


My Little Fireball

by SnapbackSteven



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Consent, Eventual Smut, F/F, Family Fluff, Fluff, Humor, Light Angst, Mild Language, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-23 01:20:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8308246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnapbackSteven/pseuds/SnapbackSteven
Summary: On your average day at the local bowling alley, Jasper comes to terms that she's living a stale life in need of some excitement and honest companionship. Similarly, Eyeball searches desperately for an escape from her everyday routine, dictated by what's expected of her. The two spark a conversation and find they have a lot in common. But love at first sight doesn't exist: Love takes time, and love takes work. Do either of them have what it takes to start a relationship?





	1. Three Strikes

**Author's Note:**

> I've been actively shipping Jasper and Eyeball since the very moment Back to the Moon aired, so it was inevitable that this fanfic would happen. It was only a matter of time (and a lot of planning and inspiration on my part!)
> 
> This is my first time writing anything with multiple chapters, so please excuse any poor writing or plotholes. I'll try my best to make it an enjoyable experience for you!
> 
> If you want more Jaspball content, make sure to follow me on tumblr @snapbacksteven, where I'm much more active.
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy 'My Little Fireball'!

It was a hot friday night at the Beach City Bowling Alley.  
  
At least 30 of the 40 alleys were filled. Half of them with regulars who planned on coming anyway, and half of them with passerbys trying to escape the Florida humidity. The bowling alley always served as a retreat from the summer heat. It was flooded with air conditioners and enough open space to avoid the body heat of the crowd. The cool wooden floors, cool bowling balls, cool drinks ... A nice getaway, even if half of their customers didn't have a clue how to bowl.  
  
'Gasoline' by Halsey played over the ceiling speakers. It lit a fire in the eyes of the competitive bowlers, but it was arguably a song too dramatic for this type of hobby.  
  
Jasper tapped the blunt end of her pen against the counter to the beat off the bass. Over the clatter of pins and rumble of balls rolling down the alleys, it was impossible to hear the lyrics, but she had worked here long enough to memorize the words to every song they played.  
  
She was a mountain of a woman. 6 foot 3 with dirty ivory hair cascading around her in waves and curling up at the ends, reaching just past her hips. Her tan skin was highlighted with vitiligo; a light patch across her nose, and her right arm an entirely different shade than the rest of her. These conflicting skin tones made it appear as if light was cascading through tree tops and casting across her in patches and flecks, of what was visible through her current attire anyway. Her work clothes were incredibly conservative; a long sleeve black button down and high-waisted slacks. The top two buttons of her top  were undone, at least, and she had a habit of slicking back her bangs to reveal a strong brow and a powerful jaw.  
  
"We've gotta update the playlists. I don't wanna get sick of Halsey." A slim blonde vixen in designer glasses scrolled through a folder on their workplace desktop computer, deleting a few particular MP3s that she had grown tired of. She was a toothpick in comparison to Jasper, but she had her own set of curves. Particularly around her waist and hips, accentuated by a similar pair of high-waisted slacks. She was a bit more decorated; shimmering green eyeshadow, her hair styled just right, olive blonde bangs pinned back with purple hairclips. Coincidentally, those clips matched her pair of earrings: gem-studded with brilliant amethyst stones. And to top it off, she wore a large alien brooch on her left shirt pocket. The kind that glows in the dark. "You're the one who listens to the car radio. Make a list of some good songs and I'll download them monday."  
  
"Or I could give you one of the playlists off my phone." She offered. Peridot sneered. "Jasper, I've heard your tracks. They just scream 'brooding antagonist', and I think that's the last thing people expect to hear in a bowling alley." She left her with that snide remark, rounding the counter and bouncing over with feigned enthusiasm to a team of players who had a ball jammed in the return. The third time this week.  
  
Just as Jasper began mentally mulling over where she left the manual for the ball returns, one of her favorite customers walked in.  
  
She was bathed in reds. Burgundy shorts exposing a strong set of legs, a crimson red tank top, a white t-shirt on underneath, and red converse high tops. Streaks of her hair held some red, but it looked more like a dye job she stopped caring about maintaining after a while. She didn't need it anyway; her hair was naturally gorgeous. Layers of deep chocolate curls wound tight around her face, coils of it falling in every direction, and just barely brushing her shoulders. Dark skin highlighted by the overhead fluorescent lights that didn't do her a bit of justice. And all of that wrapped in a package no taller than 4 foot 10.  
  
The only reason Jasper could stare whenever she walked in was because she was hidden in this girl's blind spot. In her head, she had come to nickname her 'Patch', for the eyepatch she wore over her left eye. Her eyepatch was a little different each time; a different shape, a different color. She must've had a small collection. Today, it was square and white.  
  
She returned to her usual resting bitch face when her object of affection stepped up to the counter. (Could she even call her that? She was moreso fascinated by her than attracted to her.) "What'll it be?"  
  
"The alley at the end." This girl looked like a firecracker in more ways than one. It seemed like the slightest thing could light her fuse and set her off. But nothing ever did. Although she never bothered to look up to make eye contact with Jasper, who towered over her, Jasper could still see the stress written on her face. She often tried to figure out the lives behind the customers who came in here -- out of sheer boredom more than any other reason -- and she was particularly curious about this one's. Her clothes were too casual to suggest that it was work-related. Sometimes she could catch a glance at a scar or two she had on her left cheek. Maybe she had a strained relationship with someone? Was she being abused?  
  
Jasper picked up the smallest size of shoes from their adult size rack and placed them on the counter for her. She knew her size without asking because she was one of maybe three people who ever used that pair. She held out her hand expecting payment, and yet ...  
  
The girl withheld. She squeezed her short, thick fingers around the dirty dollar bills she had pulled out of her wallet, and like something straight out of a horror movie, she slowly tilted her head back to finally meet Jasper's gaze.  
  
"Why."  
  
"... Why what?"  
  
"Why do you keep staring at me."  
  
 _Shit._  
  
"What, are you too pretty to stare at?" Jasper shot out the first comeback that popped in her head. Better play it off as a joke.  
  
"If you're looking to pick a fight," She rolled up the two inches of t-shirt sleeves that were poking out of her tank top, lifting her fists and flexing an impressive set of biceps. "then it's a fight you'll get!"  
  
Her opponent couldn't help but to bust out in laughter. A fight was the last thing she was aiming for. "Now wait just a second." She held up her own gun show that was only barely contained within her work shirt. In fact, there was the sound of a seam tearing somewhere. "You think you could beat down all this?"  
  
She must've said just the right thing, because the stress washed off her face in an instant. She saw a smile spread across that girl's lips for the first time since she'd met her, and heard her chorus of giggles that was unlike anyone else's, riddled with snorts and gasps. Her shoulders shrugged, her nose scrunched up, and she clutched at her chest like her lungs were leaving her.  
  
Cute.  
  
"Actually, I stare at you because I try putting a story to every interesting face I see come in here, and I haven't been able to put a story to yours yet." She slid the pair of shoes across to her, waving her hand and indicating that no payment was required; this pair was on the house. It didn't really matter if she could spare the cash or not; she was in a great mood after that.  
  
She took it -- though reluctant -- slipping off her high tops and switching them with the worn-in shoes that made her appear even shorter than she did before. "You're gonna be wastin' a lot of hours trying to figure out this face." She gave her converse in return. "How about I tell you after your shift? I see you got a bar over there." She thumbed in the direction of a scattered arrangement of tables and chairs, lit with multicolor lights, carpetted in dark shag, and closed off from the rest of the locale with curved walls. "And I could sure use a drink."  
  
"Only if you don't mind playing four or five sets. I still have three hours left on my shift."  
  
"Depends. Are you paying for it?"  
  
"I'm already paying for it." Jasper swung those cute little red converse in front of her tauntingly.  
  
She smirked, turning on a heel and making her way to the farthest alley without another word.  
  
"Awww, Jaspy made a friend." A nasally voice chimed in. Out of the corner of her eye, Jasper could see Peridot mockingly leaning against the counter in the same fashion as her. "Amethyst is gonna be so proud."  
  
"Is it that unusual?" The question was rhetorical. Jasper was well aware of how often she avoided even the most platonic of relationships.  
  
"Jasper, you have the social phobia of an ostrich with it's head in the ground. The farthest I've seen you socialize with anyone lately is when you make accidental eye contact with strangers. It's good to make a friend." She swiped the converse out of Jasper's hands to put them away. "But please do your job."


	2. The Answer

"Iris Diamond." She sat across the table from Jasper with great posture and an inextinguishable confidence in her eyes. Jasper took the hand she offered and shook it with a firm grasp, which was met with equal force. "My sisters call me Ruby. Probably 'cause of the whole ... red ensemble. My entire wardrobe looks like this."  
  
"Jasper Quartz." She withdrew her hand and began stirring the ice in her drink with the end of her straw. She always drove home after work, and being the semi-responsible young adult that she was, she chose to have an iced coffee. "You have sisters?"  
  
"We're not so much sisters as we are a squad. There's Navy and Leggy, the youngest two." She took a sip of her own drink: a punch made from cranberry juice and a mix of two alcoholic beverages swirling in the bottom, topped with a maraschino cherry. "They're seniors in high school. Y'know, the one on the edge of the drag going toward Tampa that looks more like a museum than a school?"  
  
Jasper made a sound of confirmation with a tilt of her head. "I know _exactly_ which one you're talking about. I graduated there."   
  
Iris halted her vague hand gesturing for a moment. ' _Oh wow_ ', she thought. A smile touched the corner of her lips briefly before she continued. What a small world. "Army's 20, she's in the air force. She pretty much signed up the second she turned 18." That smile vanished. "And then there's Doc. She owns a small business. Several small businesses, it feels like."  
  
Jasper watched her from over the edge of her glass as she went through half of her iced coffee, waiting until she was finished before she began to speak. "I have a sister. Her name's Amethyst. She's just a year younger than me, but you'd never guess by the looks of it. She's a shortstack. And my coworker behind the counter over there is her girlfriend. They're lovestruck and it's literally the most sickening aspect of my life." Peridot was texting someone, and the chesire cat-like grin on her face gave away exactly who it was. "We're not sisters by blood, but we grew up closer than close in a foster home." Her expression became somber, realizing she hadn't talked about this in a while. "We both lost our mothers when we were kids. Our mothers were very similar. They made us feel important, and special. And we ... loved them. Very much." She returned to reality when she noticed the look of concern and empathy in the other's eyes. "We, uh ... also have a little brother! He and Amethyst are blood-related. But he lives with a friend of ours. We only see him on the weekends when he's not being homeschooled."  
  
Iris looked down at the puddle left in the bottom of her glass, having drank most of it during Jasper's rant. It wasn't enough to make her tipsy, but she felt more relaxed than before. "My mother is ... Well, she's never home. I take care of Navy and Leggy when Doc's not at work." She pressed the palm of her hand against her eyepatch and laughed, though it was forced. The kind of laugh when you're thinking of something you don't like to think about because it hurts. "We're filthy rich! We live in a three story house, 'cause mom's the CEO of Diamond Incorporated."  
  
Jasper raised a brow, eyes widening. "That's ... a _really_ big retail name. Multinational kind of big. Your mom runs all that?"  
  
"Ugh." She finished off her drink like a shot and slammed the glass against the table, bolting up from her seat with a dull thud of her chair colliding with the table behind them. "Drive me home."  
  
"That's forward." Jasper stood up as well, gesturing to Peridot that it was time to go home. "You could say please."  
  
She changed her mind halfway through. "No. Nevermind. Just let me go home with you." Giving no time for Jasper to accept, she trotted off while texting her sisters that she wouldn't be home until sometime tomorrow.  
  
"Looks like that went well." Peridot chided with minor sarcasm as Jasper approached her. "It did. We're, like, totally best friends for life now." Jasper returned the sarcasm, putting away the empty glasses and sucking the cherry off the stem that Iris had left behind. "But in all honesty, she's not half-bad. It's refreshing." Peridot slung her purse over her shoulder and remotely turned off all the lights in the building through the desktop computer before shutting it down. "She must be refreshing. You're bringing her home with us." Jasper smudged the cherry juice off her bottom lip and followed behind her, locking up the bowling alley for the day. "She _did_ ask. Or, command, rather."  
  
They met up with her on the sidewalk, where she stood in waiting, scanning the parking lot and playing a mental guessing game called  "Which car is Jasper's?".  
  
"It's the burnt orange Kia Sorento in the corner." Jasper bent down to her level and pointed out the aforementioned car at the front of the parking lot. Iris scoffed. "Really? I was going more for the chunky Buick Denali with the tacky pinstripe. Looks just like you."  
  
"You have such poor taste."  
  
"Says the burnt orange." Iris guffawed and made her way to the Kia.  
  
Peridot jabbed her elbow into her coworker's side, with a silent ' _She's flirting with you. That's a good sign._ ' look to her eyes. Jasper shook her head and furrowed her brow with a ' _It's only because she's tipsy._ ' glance in return.  
  
The ride home was surprisingly silent. Peridot was in the back taking pictures of the newly finished minimall as they passed by it. No doubt snapchatting it to Amethyst. Iris was in the passenger's seat with her face buried in her knees and peeking out of the corner of her eye at her chauffeur.  
  
"Why do you keep staring at me?" Jasper quoted her from earlier on in the day.  
  
"Just feels nice to break the routine. I'm always going through the same steps. And even when I don't, something usually goes terribly wrong." She pulled her face out of her knees to breathe. "Either we haven't gotten to the part where it goes wrong, or this is what I've been looking for."  
  
"... What have you been looking for?" Jasper, the semi-responsible young adult, only gave her a quick look before returning her eyes to the road.  
  
"Just ... **something.** " Her hands wrapped around some intangible object of her imagination. Those rough, chubby little hands that were so expressive and aggressive in their every movement. "Something **new.** Something ... entirely new."


	3. Challenge Accepted

Amethyst was playing an intense set of Wii Tennis in the living room of their apartment when they walked in. She was the spitting image of Jasper, which made it hard to believe they weren't blood-related. Her silver hair flowed down to her knees and bounced with every swing of the wiimote, and her shapely figure was mostly masked in a baggy pair of silky violet pajamas patterned in stars. Her interpretive dance around the television came to a screeching halt when she heard a familiar call.  
  
"Sugarplum, I'm home~!"  
  
The narrator announced 'Break Point!' when Amethyst turned, dropped her controller like a hot potato, and rocketed toward her beloved. She tackled her back against the door, her legs instantly wrapped around her waist and her arms around her neck. "I missed you!" Stars lit up her midnight blue eyes. Her skin was a shade darker than Jasper's, and the contrast between her and Peridot's pale skin was delightful, to say the least. "I just got my **ass** kicked by the AI. I swear you must've hacked it. This biz is rigged!"  
  
"You always get mift when you play that game. It's adorable." Peridot smooched her girlfriend on the nose. Her nose was round and plump and begged to be smooched. "Did you get any callbacks?"  
  
"Nooooo ..." She whined while Peridot carried her across the living room to the couch and plopped down on it beside an open laptop.  
  
"How about I help you fill out some applications then?" She inwardly cringed at all the tabs Amethyst had open in her browser. Looks like she'd already filled many herself.  
  
"Only if you play doubles in tennis with me after."  
  
"Deal."  
  
Jasper bit her tongue. She had just caught sight of the dumbfounded grimace on Iris' face and it was hard not to laugh.  
  
"God ... they're so ... _so_ ....." She searched for an adjective, but none of them suited the feeling.  
  
"You get used to it after a while. They were crushing on eachother for 2 years and only just recently started dating. The lovebird effect will die out soon enough." Jasper tossed her keys onto the sidetable and disappeared around the corner into the next room. "Make yourself at home, Ruby." She called out to her, and she was grateful for it, because she didn't have a clue what to do with herself.  
  
It was strange being in someone else's house. Err, apartment. It was cramped in comparison to her own home, but something about that made it cozy. It was messy and personal. Clothes and merchandise scattered across the carpet and over some items of furniture. She hopped onto the beige recliner next to the side table, and became overwhelmed with the feeling that she didn't belong. Not in a bad way. Rather, it was how she fit in this chair; it was obviously Jasper's. The subtle imprints were formed by a giant and this chair was made for a giant. So she sank into it like a kid in a ball pit. She ... kinda liked that.  
  
"Are you feeling alright after that drink?" Jasper returned in more casual attire: an old grey v-neck that read 'THE FORGE' in dynamic font with a barbell decalled beneath it, and black sweatpants with holes in the knees. "Need any water?"  
  
That work shirt was hiding more than Iris originally thought. Jasper was the most well-built woman she had ever laid eyes on. Those arms looked like they could crush a car if given the opportunity.  
  
... That was a really gay thought.  
  
"Water sounds good." Jasper vanished once again to retrieve a glass, and Iris spent this time coming to terms with the fact that she never had the self-exploration period of one's teenage life, thus she hadn't a clue what her sexuality was. Feeling attracted to other people was uncommon for her. Maybe a little here and there, but not enough to make her feel like she'd just had the breath knocked out of her lungs. Was it attraction, or ... ? Was it just a respect for her physique?  
  
Jasper shuffled out of the kitchen with a yawn as the work flow ache caught up with her. But not enough to stop her from lifting Iris with one hand, taking her rightful place on her recliner throne, and setting Iris down on her lap with the gifted glass of water.  
  
Okay. It was at least a little bit of attraction.  
  
Amethyst gasped from across the room. "Jasper made a friend!!" Peridot snorted and peered over the lid of the laptop, looking at them with a grin so similar to Amethyst's that they appeared to be twins. "That's what I said!"  
  
"Ame, please tell me your self-awareness isn't limited to Peri." Jasper accused her, draping her hands over the armrests and shutting her eyes for some much needed rest.  
  
"Hey man, I can't help it if you casted a shadow over our visitor." She blew a playful raspberry at her sis. "Nice to meet you, though! Sorry, my sis is literally a skyscraper. The name's Amethyst."  
  
"Ruby." She introduced herself simply, albeit quietly, taking tiny sips from the glass of water and settling back against Jasper. Slowly. How comfortable was one allowed to be in someone else's lap? Was there a limit? She took her time resting her head back against Jasper's chest, and peered up at her to notice any change in expression. Thankfully, there was none.  
  
"So how'd you two meet?" Amethyst tucked her knees up under her chin to have a pleasant little one-on-one convo with Iris. Peridot was busy filling applications and Jasper had one foot in dreamland, seemingly.  
  
"I go to the bowling alley sometimes." She held the glass of water with both hands to avoid dropping it through her anxious fingers. "I just ... kinda picked up the hobby recently. Wanted to try something new. Even if I hit the ditch more than the alley."  
  
"You always let go of the ball too late." Jasper quietly criticized her beneath her breath, and laughed despite herself. She shouldn't have watched her games enough to know that fact.  
  
Iris pouted, though Jasper couldn't see. "And ..." She continued, "Your sister here kept giving me the stink eye."  
  
"Oh PLEASE." Jasper punched out the last word. "Give me a break. You're the queen of the stink eye."  
  
Iris ignored her comment. "So I confronted her. And I forgave her, because she's a bodybuilder too." She tilted her head back and looked at her curiously, awaiting confirmation. It was a shot in the dark to guess that she was a bodybuilder, but well ... come on. She didn't need a rocket scientist to take one look at Jasper and say 'yep, that girl lifts'.  
  
"Oh hell yeah! Jasper is **ripped!** " Amethyst was proud to brag about her sister at a moment's notice. "You should've seen her in her high school days. She was an olympic-level deadlifter."  
  
" _Still_ an olympic-level deadlifter." Big sis had to correct her, of course.  
  
"She benchpressed me and Peridot at the same time a few months back! She's _so_ badass!!"  
  
Iris scoffed. Suddenly, she had that inextinguishable confidence again. She sat up straight, crossed her legs, braced one hand on her knee, and held up her empty glass with the other, one finger pointed out toward Amethyst. "Listen, kid."  
  
Jasper peeked one eye open. She already liked where this was going. Something about her when she got like this was exciting.  
  
"I was an unmatched wrestler in high school. I could pin kids twice my size in under 3 minutes, and I have enough gold medals to anchor a ship to the shore. Nobody could catch this girl on the mat. I was like greased lightning out there! Not only that, but I'm a boxer in college now, the likes of which you've never seen before. I'm an ace in the ring, throwing jabs and hooks faster than the blink of an eye. My high score was 79 wins in a row." She took the last sip of her beverage and set the glass aside, crossing her arms. "I only took the loss because exams were hell and I was off my game. You can bet I would've knocked that kid to the curb otherwise!"  
  
Amethyst was shaking Peridot by the shoulder, mouth agape. Peridot was already listening but she let Amethyst pester her anyway. "Duuuuude ..."  
  
Jasper leaned against one arm, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and eyeing the girl in her lap. "A professional wrestler /and/ boxer?"  
  
"Did you think these were just for show?" She presented her fists like trophies and threw a few jabs at an invisible opponent. "I'm not just a pretty face." Her visible eye shut, and Jasper cursed that eyepatch for once. She couldn't tell for the life of her if she was winking or not. Was she winking? She pretended that she was winking. It gave her the courage to pop the question.  
  
"Where do I sign up?"  
  
Iris dropped her fists. "... What?"  
  
"I wanna try you in the ring."  
  
She didn't know why, but she felt an entirely new kind of excitement bubbling up in her throat.  
  
That was it. That was what she'd been looking for. This feeling.  
  
"Uhh ... Unless you wanna get suckerpunched under the belt, we _probably_ shouldn't box. You're too tall."  
  
"We could wrestle."  
  
Iris narrowed her eye. "We're on opposite ends of the weight class scale."  
  
Jasper cleared her throat. "I could pin kids twice my size in under 3 minutes." She imitated Iris' gruff tone of voice to quote her, and it was enough to bring a blush of embarrassment to the other's cheeks. Her fingers dug into Jasper's knees.

"You're going _down._ "  
  
At this point, Amethyst was practically on top of Peridot's head, giving her the unintentional noogie of a lifetime and hollerin', "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"


	4. Party in the Back

Iris had passed out on Jasper's lap at some point during her visit, and the next thing she knew, she woke up alone on the recliner, covered in one of Jasper's jackets off the coat rack to keep her comfortable. Regrettably, she didn't get a chance to take it in or say goodbye. She snuck out the door in a half-conscious daze, taking an uber back home to check in on her sisters before gathering her things and going straight to her college classes.  
  
Doc picked her up after class in the Diamond family metallic gold-painted Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. One of those vans with the tall ceilings, lots of seats, and enough room to party in. Doc herself was as classy as her ride: she wore khakis and an open black blazer, a white dress shirt underneath, and marigold suspenders. Her dreads fell across her shoulders and one in particular found it's place right in her line of vision. She swiped it away and adjusted her yellow-tinted shield sunglasses.  
  
Iris waved to her two littlest sisters, Navy and Leggy, as she took the seat farthest to the back, and they gave her high fives for good luck.  
  
Navy was in the passenger seat by Doc, but she was rarely facing forward. She was turned to Leggy, who was in the seat across from her in the second row, the both of them gossiping about all the latest happenings at their school. They wore matching blue bandanas: Leggy wore her's around her neck, and Navy's wrapped around her head and tied in the back beneath her ponytail, both of their hair beautifully dark and wool-like. They also wore matching denim shorts and custom tennis shoes plastered in stickers and sharpie doodles. The only thing that didn't match between them was the neon magenta crop top Navy wore, and the oversized 'girls like girls' t-shirt Leggy wore.  
  
Iris let herself rest against the cool glass of the window while she listened to her sisters rant and rave. It was one of those things that put her at ease. Probably because the white noise of their rambling kept their massive home from being silent, and no matter how many times she had ragged on them before for talking her ear off, she did love it.  
  
Soon enough, they pulled up to the bowling alley. Peering out the side window, Amethyst could be seen blowing a kiss to Peridot who was remaining on shift and unable to tag along for the big match. And Jasper, barefoot in black leggings and a red football jersey one size too small for her.  
  
Doc opened the automatic right side door remotely and Amethyst hopped into the seat beside Leggy and behind Navy's passenger seat. Once she took her attention away from Jasper to notice all of the sisters, she froze, eyes wide. "YOOOO. This is _squad goals_ right here!!" She crossed her arms and flashed the sign of the horns with both hands, to which Leggy and Navy squealed about and Doc flashed a charismatic grin her way.  
  
Even the van's luxurious high ceilings couldn't keep Jasper from ducking her head under the door frame to squeeze in and take her place in the back seat beside Iris.  
  
Just as Doc shifted into drive, there was the clatter of a seatbelt unbuckling in the front as Navy made a 180 to peer over the back of her seat. Doc shifted right back into park and sighed.  
  
" _That's_ Jasper?!" Navy's voice cracked. Leggy followed her sister's line of sight to see the behemoth sitting behind them and rightfully flinched.  
  
"Yep!! That's my big sis!" Amethyst puffed out her chest with a full breath of pride and joy.  
  
There was an almost painful moment of silence. Their gazes shifted between Jasper and Iris, sizing up the differences between the two and making quick assumptions, both about the upcoming match and about Iris' taste in women. Navy was giving her that look like she was about to say something along the lines of ' _how did you manage to snag this hottie?_ ' before Iris held up her hand to stop her. "Yes, we're different weight classes. But this isn't serious. It's just for fun."  
  
"Just for fun?" Jasper teased.  
  
"Unless you want it to be more than that."   
  
The pull of the van shifting into drive kept Jasper from responding. Thankfully, because she didn't have a clever comeback for that.  
  
"Ruby!" Doc's voice echoed from the front. "Girl, this is **your song!!** "  
  
Iris couldn't hear a lick of what was playing ... until Doc turned it up full blast and she heard the iconic bassline and intro murmur of ' _Soulja boy tell 'em_ '. She inhaled sharply.  
  
"DOC! THAT'S NOT MY SONG!!" Her face grew dark with embarrassment. She shook Leggy's seat defiantly and humiliated. It was a shock and a half for Jasper to see her act like this. It was almost like, for a fleeting moment, she could see the real Iris that was hidden behind ten emotional barriers.  
  
Doc snorted. "Honey, please. Everybody in the house was singing this back in the day. You had it on loop for a week when we were young."  
  
Navy and Leggy clasped their hands together and bounced in place with unbridled joy. It must have been years since they heard this song. But those years only enhanced the effect. The both of them broke out into a duet with so much teen spirit that every car they passed could hear it.  
  
" _Baby, you know that I miss you,_  
 _I wanna get with you,_  
 _Tonight but I cannot babygirl and that's the issue~_  
 _Girl you know I miss you,_  
 _I just wanna kiss you,_  
 _But I can't right now so baby kiss me through the phone~_ "  
  
They sang into invisible mics and shimmied their shoulders to the beat. Amethyst joined along for the ' _I'll see you later on_ ' and ' _See you when I get home_ ' lines, rocking out and air drumming against the passenger seat.  
  
Iris sunk further and further into the upholstery of the back row. It wasn't that she grew to dislike the song, but that it was embarrassing to have it play over loudspeakers in front of Jasper. She really liked her. She wanted to impress her, and decade old hip-hop seemed like the least likely way to impress her.  
  
Her sisters and Amethyst shouting ' _Soulja Boy tell 'em, yeah!_ ' broke her out of her overwhelmed daze. It was then she realized.  
  
They were inviting Jasper to pick up these next lyrics.  
  
And not only did Jasper sing. She sang with **enthusiasm.**  
  
" _You could be my Bonnie,_  
 _I could be your Clyde,_  
 _You could be my wife._  
 _Text me, call me, I need you in my life, yeah~_  
 _All that, everyday I need ya,_  
 _And everytime I see ya my feelings get deeper._  
 _I miss ya, I miss ya, I really wanna kiss you but I can't~_ "  
  
The way Iris looked at her, astonished, was highlighted by the high-pitched chorus of Navy and Leggy singing ' _Six seven eight triple nine eight two one two~_ '  
  
Jasper was laughing over the lyrics. How somewhat silly yet incredibly catchy they were, and how well she had remembered them despite only ever hearing this song a few times. She took Amethyst's invite to fistbump victoriously, and turned to Iris while the rest of the caravan finished their karaoke session of the song.  
  
Iris was still blushing. She quickly looked away, but Jasper still caught how she was staring. She assumed the embarrassment hadn't faded. "Hey, it's not so bad. Who didn't sing along to this in the early 2000s?"  
  
That wasn't why Iris looked at her that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I was going to introduce Iris' sisters at the wrestling match, but I wanted a more personal meeting that showed how close they are and how much fun they have together. This car ride just kinda wrote itself!
> 
> Updates won't be as frequent after this. I just really wanted to get to this particular chapter because I love it so much. Stick around for the big match, coming soon!


	5. Knockout

The wrestling ring lit up with spotlights from all sides. Every step echoed through the incredibly spacious building, filled with murmurings between those soon-to-be witnesses to the match of the century.  
  
Iris had changed into her wrestling singlet from high school. It was a dark magenta color with thick black stripes down the sides, somewhat faded from the spandex stretching overtime. Surprisingly, it still fit. Not so much because of a growth spurt -- Iris hadn't grown an inch since high school -- but because her muscle build had improved vastly since then. She could likely kill a man with a flick to the forehead.  
  
"Where'd you get the keys to this joint?" Amethyst marveled at the size of this establishment and the ring itself.  
  
"It belongs to Mister Smiley." Doc struggled to slip through the side ropes without getting tangled. "He's cool with us using it so long as we don't break anything." She made her way to the center of the ring with a microphone, gave it a few good taps to ensure it was working, and cleared her throat.  
  
"I'm sure you all know why we're here. So let's get right into it. Introducing the champion, the rebel without a cause, armed with fifty fists of fury, your favorite big sis and mine ... RRRRRUUUBYYYYY!!"  
  
Iris sat on one of the corner posts with one leg hanging over the side and a look of newfound determination shadowing her eyes. She glanced at Leggy and Navy with a smirk and a wave, appreciating their support. They were holding up notebooks with words of encouragement scribbled across them and colored with scented markers.  
  
"And introducing the challenger. She's the tip of the iceberg, the tank with legs, the angel from hell, mount Kilimanjaro herself--"  
  
"Doc."  
  
"What?" She pulled her mouth away from the mic to whisper, ' _She's **hot.** You can't deny._ ' then point to the opposite corner. "JASPEEEEERRRRR QUARTZ!"  
  
Jasper bounced in place a bit, turned her head to each side, and shook her hands. "YOU GOT THIS, SIS!" Amethyst clamored, hanging off of the post behind Jasper. "KICK HER ASS!!"  
  
"Reckless, loudmouthed, and vulgar." Jasper high-fived her, and Amethyst was grinning from ear-to-ear like she wore those titles with pride as she retreated to the seats beside Iris' sisters.  
  
"I want a good fight. Doesn't have to be clean, just has to be good. Make it entertaining." Doc clapped her hands together and headed off to the ringside table.  
  
"You look serious. I thought this was just for fun." Jasper cracked her knuckles.  
  
Iris stretched her triceps over her head, one at a time. "I'm serious about having fun."  
  
The bell sounded with a deafening echo, and it was like a hypnotist snapping their fingers. Iris swept her leg beneath Jasper's, grasped the front of her jersey, and took her down against the mat. Jasper could only let out a muffled sound of shock when she felt Iris plop down on top of her and pull her legs over her shoulders to keep her pinned.  
  
None of her sisters were surprised, but were cheering nonetheless. Amethyst threw her hands in the air and silently screamed, ' _Whaaaaaaaaaat?!_ '  
  
It seemed like an easy hold to get out of. Just slip right out. But no, Jasper was stuck wildly convulsing beneath Iris, who laughed all the while.  
  
"I'm gonna wipe that damned grin off your face." She threw one hand back and blindly felt around for a limb to grab onto, but Iris avoided her grasp with ease.  
  
"Oh sorry, what's that? Couldn't hear ya."  
  
"I'M GONNA WIPE THAT DAMNED GRIN OFF YOUR FACE."  
  
"Nah. Still couldn't catch it. Have you tried pryin' your face off the mat before you talk?"  
  
Jasper slammed her hands down, and with every muscle in her forearms, she lifted herself into a handstand, effectively flipping her opponent right off her back. From there, she landed on her feet, tackled the dazed Iris right into the nearest corner post, and pinned both hands above her head with one large mitt of her own.  
  
"As I was saying," She kneeled to her level. "I'm gonna wipe that damned grin off your face." A coy and playful smirk lit up those dark features of hers.  
  
Iris remained still and complaisant. She watched her with that same determined gaze beneath a bed of messy curls. She seemed to know exactly what would happen and exactly how to react to it to use it to her advantage regardless of the circumstance. It was _infuriating._ "... What a smarta--"  
  
"KISS."  
  
Amethyst, Navy, and Jasper whipped their heads around to stare at the uncalled for command by Leggy, who looked just as surprised by her own statement with both hands clasped over her mouth. "W-well they were just ... y'know, like ....." She looked to Navy for assistance but she was no help. "Y-you know! Like a ..." Attempting to explain how close their faces were, she bumped her fists together. "... You know!!!"  
  
Iris took the opportunity her sister gave her to slip through Jasper's fingers and slide beneath her to the center of the ring.  
  
The challenger stood and turned to face her with her fists clenched.  
  
"Are you pissed 'cause you haven't pinned me yet? I'm one for one." Iris kept her body lowered and her feet light. She was always ready to make the next move.  
  
"No. I'm pissed 'cause you're so smug about it." She swiped her thumb across her upper lip and lowered her body as well. "And _that's_ why I'm gonna pin you." Jasper became like a charging rhino barrelling toward her opponent and tackling her into the ropes. Iris countered with a direct headbutt beneath the chin that knocked the wind out of Jasper long enough for her to get a foothold on the rope, and shove off, taking her down to the mat once more.  
  
The match became a heated game of cat and mouse. A back-and-forth tossup between one of them nearly pinning the other, with buffer zones of them circling the ring like hungry predators sizing up their prey. Their biggest fans on the sidelines were on the edge of their seats all the while. Navy and Leggy had gained access to noisemakers at some point, and Amethyst eventually found herself clinging to the edge of the ring just to get a closer look at the action.  
  
This continued for twenty minutes. Iris had pinned her three additional times, and was going for a fourth.  
  
"This is getting old ..." Jasper murmured into Iris' shoulder, caught in a grapevine hold so tight that only her lower half was capable of movement. "You know I'll get out of this hold, and we'll be going through this song and dance all over again."  
  
"I know." Iris pulled her face out of the mat to breathe. Their shared body heat brought beads of sweat across her brow and trickling down her shoulder. "That's why I'll do it again ... and again. And again. I'll keep coming back. I'll pin you as many times as it takes."  
  
Jasper hesitated. She knew that look. She recognized that stubbornness.  
  
"One ..."  
  
That persistence and drive to get whatever she wanted no matter what the cost.  
  
"Two..."  
  
She saw _herself_ in Iris.  
  
"Three! Ding ding ding!" Doc mocked the sound of the bell that was currently too far away to ring. "Ladies, we have ourselves a winner!!" She held up her sister's arm in victory, and Iris took the time to breathe and wave to her sisters who were cheering louder than a crowd of soccer fans. But the moment Doc let go of her arm, she fell back against the mat beside Jasper with a thud.  
  
Jasper heaved a heavy groan. It didn't register with her that Doc was counting until long after the 'bell' rang. Doc wasn't even present to referee until now, for most of the match, she was found munching on popcorn on the sidelines. Those few seconds of getting lost in thought and failing to notice costed her.  
  
"Well ..." She sighed, "That was fun. Frustrating, but fun." She waited for a response. Agreement. A yes or a no. An audible nod. Maybe a grunt? But no, her opponent didn't make a sound.  
  
Iris was passed out and snoring peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Iris' wrestling experience outweighed Jasper's size after all!
> 
> With the introductory period of this fanfic over with, the chapters should be longer and more indepth from here on out. The next one will be a ride, that's for sure. Stay tuned!


	6. Breaking Point

"That's messed **UP.** " Amethyst crammed her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. "You should've won! I had money riding on this, bro!!"  
  
Her and the rest of the entourage had packed up and were heading out of the building. The Diamond sisters all double checked to ensure nothing was broken nor out of place before locking up. Mister Smiley could be a scary man.  
  
Jasper caught up with Amethyst ahead of the pack. "Money? Who the hell did you make a bet with?"  
  
"Doc."  
  
Iris swapped glances with her younger sister. Doc flashed a sheepish grin before having the $20 swiped out of her hand and given to Jasper, who passed it on to Amethyst. "You're unemployed. Stop gambling, Ame."  
  
"Not my fault you threw the match ..." Amethyst puffed out her cheeks, rolling the dollar bill between her thumb and index finger. "Your girl should've been easy to pin."  
  
"Didn't throw the match. Not my girl." Jasper corrected her concisely. Iris wrapped one arm around her chest, squeezing her bicep on the opposite side and falling back from the group a bit. Hearing that made her sick to her stomach somehow.  
  
She was woken up from her impromptu nap just before they departed the wrestling circuit, leaving her feeling lightheaded and distant. The conversations all became muddled and pointless and she couldn't find the energy to join in at this point. She usually felt satisfied with her matches in the ring, but that one left her feeling ... off. And this wasn't helping.  
  
"Hey." Her attention came back into focus with the booming voice of Jasper beside her. "You don't look as smug as you did on the mat."  
  
"I don't ... feel as smug."  
  
Jasper scratched her chin. "... Hey Doc." She called to the group ahead of them.  
  
"Yes, honey~?" Doc waved flirtatiously as she walked backwards between Navy and Leggy.  
  
Jasper refused to humor her. "Why don't you drop off Amethyst at our apartment and let me go home with you four?"  
  
Amethyst was the first to start jumping up and down and assuming things, immediately followed by Navy and Leggy, like fangirling triplets. They were insufferable individually, but the three of them together had become a force of nature.  
  
"Uhh, _of course?_ If our girl Ruby's for it, I'm for it!" Doc ran ahead of them to reach the Mercedes before anyone else. She already knew the answer was yes; she knew her sister, and her sister was into this Quartz girl, no matter how she may deny it.  
  
Iris was still put on the spot because of it. "It's ... yeah. Yeah. It's fine." She shrugged her shoulders and folded her arms closer to her body. Why she was feeling so selfconscious? "But I have classes in the morning. Do you want me to take you home before it gets too late?"  
  
Jasper smirked. "Hey Ame." She called to her sis. "You get to have some privacy with Peridot tonight."  
  
Amethyst stumbled against Leggy and clutched onto her tee. She turned slowly to face her sister, biting her bottom lip. "It's been 84 years ..." She whispered, ever the drama queen.  
  
"Let's get going before I change my mind." She teased Amethyst before sliding into the backseat of the Mercedes.  
  
\--  
  
The Diamond family home was more akin to a tower than a house. The outside was industrial and looked like it came with a septuple digit price tag. And the interior matched that: the main hall was enormous, big enough to house a party of well over a hundred. Stray designer chairs and tables lined the walls, leading in three directions: a living room to the right, a combination kitchen/dining room to the left, and a spacious staircase straight ahead.  
  
"... You weren't kidding about the whole 'filthy rich' thing." Jasper's voice echoed despite she spoke quietly. It was so foreign and obscure. Being the large lass that she was, you would imagine walking into a house that had doors she didn't have to duck under and couches she could sit in comfortably would be like an answer to her prayers. But she didn't like it. It felt ... cold.  
  
"Welcome to my black hole." Iris sarcastically waved a hand to present her home to their guest, her sisters ascending the staircase and disappearing into any of the many rooms in the three-story abode.  
  
"I'd ask for a glass of OJ, but I'm afraid you'd get lost in the kitchen." She kidded, though Iris didn't seem to find it humorous.  
  
"I'll get it for you. Just go to the second floor and take the fourth door to the right." Jasper watched her cross the main hall, and thought about how many unnecessary steps she must take a day just to travel through her own home. She had sudden flashbacks of the first time she saw Iris walk into the bowling alley, because she looked exactly like that now; tense, stressed, uncomfortable in her own skin.  
  
She followed Iris' directions up the stairs and found herself in a luxurious guest room, looking as if a soul hadn't touched it in months, and ... two queen size beds on each side? Now that was just excessive. Any piece of furniture that could be draped in fine pastel silks _were_ draped in fine pastel silks, and bookcases took up most of one wall, while a large curved television took up the other.  
  
She made herself comfortable on one of the beds and stretched her arms out over her head. For a bodybuilder of her caliber, that wrestling match was more like a pleasant warmup that limbered up her body rather than leaving her aching like it would most.  
  
A few minutes passed before Iris pushed open the ajar door and peered in at Jasper shyly. She had changed into a pair of black pajama pants just a tad too long, dragging the floor under her bare feet as she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. She wore an oversized tiger pattern t-shirt that slid off one shoulder no matter how she pulled it up -- and she had a habit of doing so. She handed the glass of orange juice to a mildly flustered Jasper. "No ice. Is ... that okay?"  
  
Jasper looked in shock, one eye squinted and her head tilted. She took the glass hesitantly from her grasp. "It sure is ..." She murmured, mentally kicked herself, then drowned her composure in a large sip of juice.  
  
Iris left to climb onto the opposite queen size bed, taking the pillow from the top to place it at the bottom, and lie down on her stomach. She fiddled mindlessly with the tag of the pillowcase, at a loss for words.  
  
Jasper tapped one finger against the rim of her glass. "There's a television over there in case you don't have anything better to stare at." She attempted to tease her, cautiously. It seemed to work this time; she saw a smile touch those warm carnelian eyes. It was contagious.  
  
"Sorry. I have trouble sleeping by myself. I usually sleep in one of my sisters' rooms, but I figured you didn't want to spend the night alone in a stranger's house."  
  
"You're not a stranger. But you're right. I didn't want to spend it alone." She took another sip of her beverage, and their eyes locked fiercely in those few seconds. The feeling that eye contact gave them was mutual. "... But you don't seem comfortable anywhere in this house."  
  
"It's ... not home to me. It only feels like home when I'm with my sisters and I can forget everything. We've lived in numerous houses. This one's just ... the worst, for me."  
  
Jasper dropped off her now empty glass on the ornate side table and assumed a position similar to Iris: lying on her stomach, arms folded over, and chin resting on the pillow. Iris had her full attention, and that was something she wasn't used to. Someone genuinely interested in what she had to say. She scratched at her eyepatch, for whatever was beneath it itched. Either that, or she had gone speechless.  
  
"Tell me why." Jasper prompted her. She could see that she was nervous.  
  
"It's just ..." She furrowed her brow, leaning up on her elbows and clenching her fists. "I don't feel like I can get out of here. It's like, I could keep running and running and never make it out the front door. Even when I _do_ leave, it's like I'm still stuck in here. In my head, y'know?" Jasper nodded in agreement. Though she didn't know the exact feeling, she definitely knew the troubles of the mind. "Everytime I drive up to the front, it just reminds me of college. I'm majoring architecture." She laughed, bitterly. "I'm not even _remotely_ interested in it! But that's **all** I see during class, and it's **all** I see at home, and I'm **so** tired of it."  
  
"Why the hell are you putting yourself through that?" Jasper hugged her pillow closer to her chin. "I skipped college. Not that I could afford it, but I wouldn't go even if I had the money. It's not worth it."  
  
"Because I have to do _something!_ I've tried everything!" She beat one frustrated fist against the bed. "I joined all these clubs in high school, showed promise in leadership skills, got straight A's, and I was praised. Everyone said I was going places. Even mom was proud of me. But then I took up wrestling and now I'm a boxer, and that's supposedly just a 'pointless hobby' to mom. Nothing to be proud of. I went overseas with Army a few years back, I--" She grimaced, digging her fingers into the sheets. "Navy and Leggy's grades are alright, and they have all these passions and dreams, and such personality. And Doc's already running a small business. Army's rising in the military ranks. And what have I been the past 6 years since high school?" She threw her arms up. "A fuck up, that's what!"  
  
"No, you're not." Jasper assured her, and looked to be sharing the frustration Iris had. She was so accomplished and she couldn't even see that.  
  
"Oh trust me, I am. I'm the family disgrace. I'm nearly 25 and far past my potential. Mom's nearly given up on me. If I don't make it through college, I know that'll be it for her. She basically forced the tuition just to try and make **some** use of me, and I'm sure it would only be to work for her corporation anyway. Designing one of those lavish supermalls. I hate all that useless space ..." She looked toward the door and sighed a deep, tired sigh. "... I could've been worth something."  
  
Jasper was by her bedside before she knew it, a dark look of sympathy casting over her eyes, fists clenched at her sides.  
  
"... Jasper?"  
  
"You can't let _anyone_ make you feel like garbage."  
  
She sat crosslegged on the bed beside her. "Especially not your mom. God, she sounds like _such_ an ass." It was relatable enough to melt away the anger and make Iris crack up in a fit of laughter. "She **is** an ass!" She agreed, amongst the snickering. It felt like a relief to hear her laugh, as often as Jasper tried to make her laugh. She wasn't sure why she tried so hard. It was just ... the most wonderful sound.  
  
"I don't know how you do it. College? When you don't even like what you're majoring in?"  
  
"Ugh. I've been doing it for two years already. I just grew numb to it. I _had_ to grow numb to it, or I would've blew a fuse." She placed a hand on Jasper's knee. Almost like she was testing the waters. Jasper allowed it, so Iris rolled over and rested her head on her lap, taking a deep breath to calm herself.  
  
"You _are_ a little intimidating. Can't imagine what would happen if someone really pissed you off." Jasper placed one hand on her head, brushing her thumb along her forehead to soothe the stress in her brow.  
  
"You wouldn't wanna be around for that."  
  
\--  
  
Jasper was woken up in the warm dawn of the morning by a racket outside the guest room. It was surreal to wake up in such an elegant room at an hour that she'd usually spend sleeping in before work, yet here she was, listening to the sound of footsteps heavy outside the closed door. She slid herself out of bed like a cat disturbed from their restful slumber, and shuffled over to open the door. She was immediately met with a strange face.  
  
She was tall. Taller than Jasper even, if only by an inch or two. Everything about her was slick; her hair, her jawline, her pressed suit accented with a gold tie and gold cufflinks. But it was her eyes that were most piercing. They were a shade of caramel, yet despite being such a warm color, her eyes were frigid like ice. Her hair was a very obvious light blonde dye job and pulled into a bun. She held a folder of organized papers beneath one arm, and in her free hand, a ballpoint pen between her long fingers.  
  
"What is ..." She pointed her pen in Jasper's general direction. "... this?" Her voice was as uptight as her permanent bitch face.  
  
Jasper was a mess in comparison. Still in that football jersey and wearing the bedhead of a lifetime.  
  
"Jasper. A friend of mine." Iris spoke harshly. It was only then that Jasper noticed she was present behind her mother with her bookbag in hand and already dressed for her college classes.  
  
Jasper cleared her throat. "Uh ... Mrs. Diamond, I presume?"  
  
" **Miss** Diamond. A pleasure, I'm sure." She didn't take the time to shake her hand. Those few seconds would have been a waste of her precious time, so she left them both in her wake to descend the stairs with the thundering clacks of her high heels.  
  
"Stay." Iris whispered to her. She wouldn't look Jasper in the eye, and Jasper knew why. Her face was flushed with anger and humiliation; she didn't want Jasper to see her this way. She glanced in her direction, and seeing Jasper being a half-awake mess put her a little more at ease. Her shoulders fell. "Stay in your room." She followed after her mother, and Jasper leaned on the doorframe to consider her options.  
  
Soon after, Navy ran by holding Leggy's hand, the both of them waving goodbye to Jasper and Leggy whispering something along the lines of ' _that's such a good look for her!_ ' while being pulled out the door by her sis. Doc passed by Jasper as well, but lowered her shades to wink at her and blow her a kiss before moving on. After that, Jasper was just about ready to text Amethyst to have Peridot come pick her up, not wanting to be a bother during these busy hours for the Diamond Family. But she heard a shout.  
  
"You **WHAT?** "  
  
Jasper pressed a hand to the wall, making her way to the staircase and looking down into the main hall, where Miss Diamond and Iris stood facing off.  
  
"I've been skipping half my classes and the profs are breathing down my neck about it. I can't go today. I can't do that again."  
  
"You _will_ go to those classes. _Every one of those classes._ " Miss Diamond was trying to keep her cool, and Jasper could see where Iris got that latent temper. "I'm paying every cent of your tuition and you damn well better be at that campus _every_ day."  
  
"Are you kidding me ... ? You're MADE of MONEY. We have rooms in this house no one's ever even used before, besides those crustyass gambling fat cats you have over for your big corp parties. You make so many reckless financial decisions, I have **no idea** how you've EVER kept your own company afloat!"  
  
Jasper stepped halfway down the stairs just in time to see the hateful way Miss Diamond looked upon her own daughter.  
  
"You're in no place to criticize me, Iris." She crossed her arms. "All the business opportunities I gave you, and you took none of them. So you _will_ finish college, and finally make something of yourself. I'm doing this for your own good."  
  
Iris' knuckles grew white. "You make me so ... fucking ... sick ....." She threw one hand out open in front of her. "My own good?! You've never done **anything** for **my** own good! I _loved_ wrestling and being part of a team, and you spat on me for it! You said it didn't lead anywhere ' _successful_ '. Well who fucking cares, because I LOVED doing it! But no, I had to please the great queen of Diamond Incorporated, so what do I do? I go overseas with Army. At least that way I could be with my sis, lead a team, and make you happy, but you know what it got me? YOU KNOW WHAT IT GOT ME?" She dropped her bookbag and ripped the eyepatch off her face, throwing it down to the floor and gesturing aggressively to her left eye. " _A GRENADE TO THE FACE AND NONE OF YOUR PRAISE!!!_ "  
  
Jasper's heart fell into her stomach. Iris' skin was scarred around that eye, along her left cheek, and going down her jawline. The eye itself was glazed over with a milky film, and welling up with tears of frustration.  
  
"So I came back home, feeling like I couldn't win at anything, and you sent me straight to college to ' _get my mind off of it_ '." She made air quotes with her fingers, then buried her face in her hands. "But all I could think about was that year overseas, so all my grades were shit in comparison to high school. That's why I started boxing so I could _live_ a little and win at something again, and at least then maybe you'd come to some of my matches and make bets with your gambling friends. But you never came to a SINGLE match, and YOU'RE the one who put me in college! Well you know what I think of your fucking college?" She picked up her bookbag and gripped it tight, ripping it completely in half: all her expensive textbooks, notes from classes, and everything that college ever gave her. Torn in half with the adrenaline from years of pressured expectations. She tossed the remains at her mother's feet, who looked on in disbelief.  
  
"Take your precious tuition and **shove it.** " She turned and made her way out of that house faster than she ever had.  
  
Jasper didn't notice how Miss Diamond must have looked then. Her concerns were entirely for Iris. She ran down the remainder of the stairs and caught the door before it could close, rushing out to find her. She caught sight of her running for the gate, and Jasper sprinted after her barefoot across the lawn of their estate. She slid onto her knees and swept her instantly into her arms, pulling her close to her shoulder and feeling hot tears staining her jersey.  
  
"Hey. It's okay. You're okay."  
  
Iris was trembling and her breathing was uneven and heavy. She clutched Jasper's jersey and buried her face further into her shoulder, screaming at the top of her lungs followed by sharp hiccups and gasps.  
  
Jasper ran one hand through her hair and held her tight.  
  
"I've got you."


	7. Meet the Quartzes

"How does it look?" Iris adjusted her eyepatch; this one was a cool shade of red, shaped to fit the contours of her brow and cheekbone, and covered with tacky dollar store stickers.  
  
"It looks terrible." Jasper placed another ying-yang sticker on her already well-plastered eyepatch. "I love it."  
  
It had been a week since Iris started living in the Quartz Sisters' apartment. It was temporary, of course, until things blew over at home. She just wasn't ready to face it yet. But this week away from college and away from her mother had made her a lot more open and talkative. She'd never felt this free before, and it showed. She smiled and laughed often. She loved bunking on the couch, and living closely amongst friends. She missed her sisters dearly, but she spent much of her evenings texting them whenever they didn't come to visit.  
  
"Maaan ... I gotta move out with Peri. You two are gonna kill me." Amethyst slouched against her lover while Peridot inwardly cursed out a game she was playing on her girlfriend's laptop. Said game was sudoku on extreme difficulty. Iris stiffled a laugh in the crook of her arm.  
  
 "Sis, you wouldn't move out if a plague hit our home." Jasper took a sip from her sizeable mug of morning coffee and flipped mindlessly through television channels.  
  
"Mmn ... I hate it when you're right." She hugged up closer to Peridot and placed tiny kisses on her shoulder, her love reciprocating with an arm wrapped around her waist.  
  
Jasper glanced over her mug at Iris. She was laying across the open space of the couch with her legs resting on Jasper's lap. The couch itself had been personalized with her belongings since she made her stay here, such as a fluffy white blanket and a few old teddy bears. The teddy bears were dressed in their own little interchangeable clothes. One of them even had an eyepatch pinned on similar to one of Iris' eyepatches. She kicked her feet softly against Jasper's lap and typed away on her Galaxy phone protected by a fittingly outer space-style case.  
  
"Tell your sisters I said hi."  
  
"Doc already said hi. Or, well ..." She held up her phone to show Doc's text of ' _Hello my darling Jasper~_ ' and fake-gagged about her sister's flirtatious ways. "I'll tell Navy and Leggy you said hi. We're in a group chat."  
  
"I don't know if I've told you, but I adore your sisters. I love having them over to visit. They're so much fun."  
  
She sneered. "I don't like Doc's definition of 'fun' ..."  
  
"Oh, that reminds me! Steven's coming over today!" Amethyst had fallen over in Peridot's lap at this point, so she let her hand talk for her. "Soon. Like ... _real soon_ , actually."  
  
Iris looked between the Quartz sisters, and proceeded to interrupt the current group chat to convey this information.  
  
[Leggy] & she thought Navy's top was cute too!  
[Doc] Ohohoho  
[Navy] She noticed me  
[Ruby] Uhmmm I think Jasper's family is coming over.  
[Navy] I almost died  
[Navy] WAIT WHAT?  
[Leggy] OMG RUBY!!!!!!!  
[Doc] Ohhhhh girl.  
[Doc] It's serious.  
[Navy] SHES BRINGING HER FAMILY OVER JUST TO MEET YOU?  
[Leggy] Are u wearing ur lucky patch?!  
[Ruby] Navy no. It's not like that  
[Doc] Could be like that, if you get my drift.  
[Ruby] It's just a routine visit. But I'm nervous.  
[Navy] Put on something cuuuute~~  
[Leggy] ARE U WEARING UR LUCKY PATCH  
[Ruby] No but.... Jasper put stickers on the one I'm wearing.  
[Navy] skdfffffffff  
[Doc] I can hear them screaming down the hall.  
[Leggy] THAST SO CUTE!!!!!!!!  
[Ruby] Bbl i think they're here  
[Doc] Make a good impression~.  
[Navy] COME BACK WITH DEETS  
  
Amethyst jumped out of Peridot's lap and rushed to the door as soon as she heard a knock, throwing it open and being immediately embraced by an excitable young boy.  
  
"AMETHYST!!!"  
  
"STE-- waaait a second. This can't be my little brother!" She lifted him beneath his arms and held him out at arms' length in front of her. "When'd you get so big?!"  
  
Hearing him laugh was like hearing an angel sing. His face lit up like the sun. You didn't have to know anything about him to know he was everything that was good and pure about this world. "It's my new shoes!" He clicked the heels of his feet together and an impressive set of light-up nikes began radiating a pink aura.  
  
Amethyst dropped him back onto his feet and took a step back to beckon her girlfriend. "Pssttt Peri, look at this ... !"  
  
"Sick kicks, Steven!" Peridot gave two thumbs up, and Steven returned the gesture.  
  
Even with the age gap, he and Amethyst were identical heights and shared many mannerisms and facial expressions. His skin was paler than hers, though his hair was much darker in mounds of curls like decorative icing on a chocolate cake. Everything about him was round, from his face to his tummy to his chubby little fingers. And he was decked out for this visit today, as well: he wore a pink t-shirt with 'star child' written in yellow across the front, an equally pink see-through skirt, and light blue denim shorts underneath.  
  
"Is this new too?!" Amethyst tugged on the fringe of his skirt, and he did a quick twirl, beaming with pride. "Yeah!! Connie gave it to me 'cause it matches my favorite shirt! Plus it's floaty and it looks like a parachute when I jump with it."  
  
Jasper shot a finger gun his way. "Lookin' good, Rosebud."   
  
"Big Buff Cheeto Puff." He countered with two finger guns of his own. "And ... guest?"  
  
Iris froze up and clutched her phone closer to her chest.  
  
"Oh, this is Ruby. She's a friend of ours. She's been bunking with us for the week."  
  
Steven bounded over to her with enthusiasm and held out his hand in greeting. "Amethyst told me about you! Hi! I'm Steven!"  
  
She was taken aback by the compassionate aura this boy radiated, but eventually took his hand. "It's a pleasure ... You're Jasper's little brother?"  
  
"I know, right? The resemblance is uncanny." He tapped his chin and earned a hearty snort from Jasper.  
  
The front door opened once more to allow in the rest of the family. Steven had just pulled ahead of the pack and managed to be the first to arrive.  
  
The first was a tall and slender woman well-dressed in pastel blues, pinks, and yellows. Her apricot-colored hair was pulled slick in the back but had messy tufts framing her soft features. Her skin was like porcelain and her eyes were round and bright, looking kindly upon everyone in the room. She wore a sky blue v-neck blouse that flared at the bottom over a pair of pastel yellow high-waisted trousers, and blue slip-on shoes that matched her top.  
  
"Steven's been so excited to show off his new clothes to you all! Isn't that right, Garnet?"  
  
Pearl was hanging off the arm of a woman even taller than herself, and much wider around the hips. Her skin was dark as midnight and lit with stars in the form of shimmering makeup along her high cheekbones. She had on sunglasses framed in magenta which were half-buried in her beautiful dreadlocks. Not a single dread was out of place, and they bounced in unison with each step she took. Her full lips were colored in mauve and matched the leather jacket she wore over a black strapless tank top. Accentuating those obvious hips of hers were a pair of black jean cut offs.  
  
"The lights in those shoes nearly burnt out before we got here." She remarked in an accent that suited her outlandishly gorgeous appearance.  
  
"Hey Amethyyyst!" A gruff voice called from outside the apartment. Making his way in was someone who looked remarkably just like Steven, only 30 years older with hair down to the back of his knees. He was much less stylish than the rest of his family; a plain white tee with the sleeves torn off, faded jeans, and sandals that looked like they were this close to falling apart. The only thing stylish about him was the rocker jacket he wore that had 'Mister Universe' decalled in 80s style across the back. "Your old man's got a surprise for ya!" He held out four tickets and Amethyst instantly knew, but she ran to him and snatched one out of his hand to read it regardless. "NO WAY. Front row at the Mike Krol concert?!"  
  
"One for you, Peridot, Stuball, and yours truly! We're gonna rock all night 'till the sun comes up!" He and Amethyst air guitared a single strum together before she jumped up to hug him. "Thank you thank you THANK YOU!! I thought I was gonna miss him playing in Beach City this year for sure!"  
  
Pearl and Garnet left them to discuss the concert to introduce themselves to whoever Steven was talking to. He had made himself comfortable sitting between Jasper and this new friend of theirs.  
  
"This must be Ruby! It's very nice to meet you." Pearl shook her hand with such poise and politeness. Garnet lowered her shades to wink at Iris, almost like she knew ... something. Iris felt uneasy about her. She seemed like she knew too much.  
  
"Nice to meet you too ..." She glanced nervously to Jasper, and it took a moment, but the Quartz girl realized she must be confused.  
  
"This is Pearl and Garnet. They were close friends of Amethyst and Steven's mother, and close friends of their dad Greg over there." She elaborated. "They homeschool Steven and have many fancy dinners with our sister family, the Maheswarans."  
  
"So!" Pearl pulled up a chair to sit in, crossed one leg over the other, and folded her hands in her lap. "Why did you decide to start living with Amethyst and Jasper?"  
  
Iris swallowed harshly. That wasn't exactly the type of question she was ready to answer, as harmless as it was.  
  
"She needed a vacation." Jasper picked up Steven and set him on her lap, patting the new space beside her so Iris could scootch closer. "So we're letting her crash here until she's ready to get back to work. Plus, I wanted her to meet the cutest little bro in the world." She ruffled Steven's curls and he cackled, swatting at her hands and giving her a playful punch on the shoulder. "I just turned 14! I'm not cute!"  
  
"Ohh, that's right." She smirked. "Only Connie can call you cute."  
  
He punched her again. "Shush!"  
  
If anything touched Iris' heart, it was a healthy familial bond. This family was even larger than her own and they all seemed so close and happy to see eachother, even though they must visit often and part of them weren't even blood-related. The way Jasper was such a gentle giant toward the youngest made her heart skip a beat. She found herself smiling like a lovestruck teenager and quickly stood up. "I, uh ... Excuse me." She quickly departed to follow the others into the kitchen.  
  
"She seems ... nice." Pearl hesitated to say.  
  
"She is nice." Jasper swung one arm over the back of the couch and smiled, watching her disappear around the corner.  
  
Garnet crossed her arms. "You like her."  
  
"Well of course--"  
  
"You, **like** , her."  
  
Jasper narrowed her gaze and scratched at her shoulder. "... Yes? Maybe? I'm not sure yet."  
  
"Well you're certainly attracted to her." Garnet sat in the chair beside Pearl, resting a hand over hers, and Pearl looked to her knowingly.  
  
"No doubt." Jasper chuckled. "She's ... _woof._ "  
  
"But do you really _know_ her?" Pearl mildly scolded her with one finger in the air. Her whole niche was being sensible and avoiding disasters. "That's what's most important."  
  
"Yyyeeeaaahhh ... I know more than I probably should." Jasper gestured vaguely. "Listen, I don't wanna start anything right now. Let's just keep it to ourselves, shall we?"  
  
\--  
  
"Amethyst." Iris tapped on the Quartz girl's shoulder to catch her attention. "Has Jasper ... _always_ acted like this?"  
  
"What?" Amethyst sipped on a soft drink Greg had picked up for her at the Big Donut on their way over. "Ooohh, you mean that weird way she makes everything into a joke to flirt with you?"  
  
Iris' brow knitted together and her cheeks flushed. "That's not what I meant ... I mean ..... Has she always been this ... nice?"  
  
Amethyst leaned against the cupboards and slid the straw through the lid of her drink, creating that annoying squeaky sound that she seemed to love. "You gotta give her a break. She hasn't exactly had an easy life. We had our share of problems in the foster home. I was always causing trouble and bottling up my problems, and she was reckless and cruel and never thought things through. That didn't magically go away after we got out of there, it just got worse. She went through some ... stuff. Up until pretty recently." She gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "She really tries for you. She doesn't want you to see her bad side. Give her time, okay?"  
  
Iris stood in thought until Amethyst left, then rested both arms on the counter. She took a deep breath and turned her phone out of sleep mode.  
  
[Ruby] back  
[Navy] We should take our sketchbooks  
[Navy] OH  
[Doc] Have they approved of giving you Jasper's hand in marriage?  
[Leggy] What happend?!?!?  
[Navy] Are they ALL super tall??  
[Ruby] They were really sweet. I love them.  
[Leggy] Awwwwwww!!!  
[Ruby] And, i don't know. I just feel weird i guess  
[Navy] Why did something bad happen? Are you okay?  
[Ruby] Yeah i'm okay.  
  
[Ruby] ...I think Jasper likes me.


	8. We Don't Love Anymore

It was the morning after, and Ruby had offered to visit her sisters' high school during free period to make up for her absence from home. It took a lot of persistence through texting to make 100% sure they wouldn't mention anything about what happened yesterday to Jasper. She knew her sisters were raving fangirls and had little self control.  
  
Jasper had dressed in her orange and black varsity jacket from her high school days just for such an occasion, with a tan tank top underneath and ripped slouch jeans. The complete alumna aesthetic.  
  
"Stop making me feel older than I already am." Iris elbowed her in the side, dressed in a much more casual red sleeveless v-neck and loose-fitting cargo pants. They were walking the sidewalk to the front of the school and the white noise of teens talking and screaming were closing in.  
  
"Can't believe you're 3 years older than me." They had made their way out of the parking lot, and Jasper peered around at the young faces hanging out in cliques around the front of the school. The nostalgia was almost suffocating. The flashbacks she got from this weren't exactly pleasant.  
  
"Almost 4 years older than you." Iris knew exactly how to traverse the crowd and exactly where to go. Despite never attending this school, she seemed to know it better than Jasper herself. So she followed her lead into the school and through the busy halls.  
  
After crossing the sea of freshmen and sophomores, they came out through a double door to a side-building dedicated to the water-themed school sports. A pool stretched from one end to the other, both filled and surrounded by energetic teens in either their bathing suits or gym clothes. Kids yelling to their friends on the opposite side of the expansive facility echoed off the high ceiling, and sunlight poured in from the large tiled sunroof windows, making the water glisten with the waves created by high dives and cannonballs.  
  
"HI RUBY!" Navy waved and called from the high board, giving it a few good test bounces then somersaulting into the water below.  
  
"You've gotten better at that, Navy! Excellent form." She applauded her sister for one of her many talents, and left Jasper standing at the door looking ... rather uneasy.  
  
"Rubyyyyy!!" Leggy rushed to hug Iris and swung her around in a midair circle. "I missed you lots!"  
  
"I missed you too!" She gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and held her hands together. "Still too shy to test the waters?"  
  
Leggy shrugged her shoulders and bit her bottom lip. She was still in a t-shirt and shorts, so it was clear she hadn't touched the water. "Well ... I had the courage to last week! So I tried swimming! ... For a few minutes ....."  
  
"Oh really? What made you that brave?"  
  
Her sister suddenly looked very embarrassed and twice as shy as she already did. She took Iris by the hand and brought her over to sit on the pool side, where Navy swam over to join them and waved to someone in the distance. "Thank you, Miss Lazuli!!"  
  
Presumably the lifeguard of the pool stood at the corner holding up a 9.5/10 sign for Navy's high dive. She wore a navy one-piece bathing suit and a shiny silver whistle hanging off her slender neck. She appeared to be young enough to belong with the students rather than the school staff, but her height gave it away. She was tall and lean, with the subtlest of curves and toffee-tone skin, and an overall androgynous aesthetic. Her hair was dyed a dark ocean blue with messy tufts over an undercut in the back, and full, fluffy bangs in the front, falling over sleepy ocean eyes.  
  
"She's so pretty ..." Leggy sighed wistfully, joined by Navy climbing up onto the pool edge to sit with her sisters, sighing as well.  
  
"You two are such massive lesbians." Iris snorted, meaning it in the most loving way possible. She called her sisters gay at every chance she got. It was a term of endearment at this point.  
  
"OH MY GOD!" Navy slapped Leggy on the shoulder and prompted an obligatory "ow?!" from her confused companion. "She's coming this way!!" Leggy turned to see Lapis walking the pool edge, gasped, and slapped Navy in return. "Oh my god!!!"  
  
"Everything okay over here, ladies?" Lapis kneeled beside the three of them like a knight in shining armor, or rather ... a knight in a gorgeous one-piece. Iris could see hearts forming in her sisters' eyes, and she chuckled. "I think we're good. It's nice to see you again, Lapis."  
  
"You too, Ruby. It's been a while since I've seen you here, but Navy and Leggy talk about you all the time, among ... many other things." She winked at them, and they swooned like the Goddess of Gaydom had just blown them a kiss.  
  
"I hope they haven't been giving you too much trouble."  
  
"Oh, they can give me trouble anytime. I don't mind." Her smile was so pure that it was impossible to tell when she was being genuine and when she was flirting.  
  
Navy gasped softly and shook Iris by the shoulder. "Wait, didn't you bring you-know-who today? You should introduce her to Miss Lazuli!!"  
  
"You-know-who?" Lapis tilted her head, and scanned the room. First across the pool, where she saw no one unfamiliar, and then the rest of the room. She didn't like what she found.  
  
Still standing at the door was an unmistakable bad memory. 6 feet of one big mistake.  
  
Jasper was frozen when their eyes locked. Lapis' eyes were wide yet cold and emotionless. Her jaw tensed and she didn't say a word no matter how the confused Diamond sisters tried to get her attention.  
  
Iris had been so excited to see Navy and Leggy again that she hadn't noticed Jasper was no longer by her side. She looked back to her, and felt a lump form in her throat. Jasper looked ... afraid. She didn't know Jasper was afraid of anything. Not just because she was strong, but she seemed to just ... have it all together. Iris foolishly assumed that she was indestructible. Whatever paralyzed her was something entirely intangible within the eye contact between her and the lifeguard.  
  
Lapis rose to her feet. She showed no indication that she was going to approach Jasper, but Jasper didn't wait around to find out. She felt behind her for the handles to the doors, threw them open, and bolted down the hallway, knocking at least a few spare bystanders down in her wake.  
  
Iris was on her feet and running after her before anyone could get a word in edgewise. She was nowhere near capable of catching up with her, so she spent a solid 10 minutes searching the main sections of the high school on her way out: the cafeteria, the gym, a few stray empty classrooms. She finally made it outside, and the grey clouds from the east were beginning to move over the campus grounds, casting a shadow over the parking lot. She slowly crossed the asphalt to the Kia and -- seeing Jasper draped over the steering wheel -- hesitated.  
  
Jasper didn't move or seem to notice her as she slid into the passenger seat and quietly closed the side door.  
  
"... Jasper?" Her voice cracked, and she wasn't sure if Jasper could hear through those earbuds or not. She didn't respond. Her arms were folded over the steering wheel and her face pressed into the crease of her forearm, her hair falling over her shoulders and masking any sign of her expression.  
  
Iris reached to take one earbud from Jasper, and she made no effort to stop her. She placed it in her left ear and picked up Jasper's smartphone, seeing the current song playing was a cover of 'We Don't Talk Anymore' by Alex Aiono and Diamond White. She heard the vinyl of the steering wheel give way beneath Jasper's tightening grip.  
  
' _Cause even after all this time I still wonder,_  
 _Why I can't move on,_  
 _Just the way you did so easily ..._  
 _I don't wanna know,_  
 _What kinda dress you're wearing tonight,_  
 _If he's holding onto you so tight,_  
 _The way I did before._  
 _I overdosed,_  
 _Should've known your love was a game,_  
 _Now I can't get you out of my brain,_  
 _Oh it's such a shame, that we don't talk anymore,_  
 _We don't talk anymore,_  
 _We don't talk anymore, like we used to do ..._ '  
  
Iris' heart pounded erratically in her chest and her words caught in her throat. She had to ask her. She had to. She already knew the answer, but she didn't want to hear it.  
  
"... She's your ex, isn't she?"  
  
Jasper heaved a deep, shuddering exhale. She had been holding that breath of air for a while now.  
  
"Yes."  
  
She was quiet. It pained Iris to hear how quiet she was. Almost more than it pained her to have been witness to Jasper running from Lapis. She placed one hand open on the middle divider between them, inviting Jasper to take it.  
  
Jasper was silent and still for two more loops of the song. Eventually, she forced herself to stop brooding and regain composure. Reliving unpleasant memories was taxing. She steadied her breathing and brushed her fingers through her mane to pull it out of her eyes, swiping her knuckle beneath her eye to wipe away a stray tear. She gazed upon Iris who sat beside her with her eye closed and her full attention on the music coming through her earbud, and her hand open in waiting for her. How patient and compassionate she was with her, despite how little she truly knew Jasper. She sat there, listening to the song that made her heart ache and trying her best to understand her.  
  
She was beautiful.  
  
Jasper smiled and watched her expression shift in subtle ways depending on the lyrics. She finally took Iris' hand, not only to hold it, but to bring it up to her lips to kiss, ever so gently. The touch of warmth brought Iris back to reality to blink wearily yet shocked by the sudden gesture. Not only for that kiss, but the several kisses after that Jasper placed along her palm and the softness of her wrist without breaking a moment of eye contact.  
  
Iris found herself unconsciously pressing back against the window pane, because the space between them was quickly shrinking. Her heart sped up. Jasper shifted her body across over the middle divider, pressing one large hand against the window beside Iris and cupping her chin between her fingers with the other. Jasper searched her expression for a sign of ... something. Her eyes were like a timid fire ready to burn and, even if it was only for a moment, Jasper wanted to feel that burn. In a way, she did; Iris clutched the collar of Jasper's varsity jacket and pulled her in with wild abandon, close enough to feel her breath. Jasper's eyes closed. She restrained herself.  
  
"I wish I could kiss you."  
  
"I wish you would."  
  
She could feel Jasper's fingers tremble as they swept through her bed of curls. Jasper was trying to be gentle, but it was becoming difficult. She opened her eyes once more, and the way Iris looked beneath her was enough to send shivers down her spine.  
  
"... May I?"  
  
" _Please._ "  
  
Her fingers wrapped tight around a handful of Iris' hair and their lips met briefly. A few teasingly short kisses, leading up to one so powerful that Iris slid down from the window and Jasper cupped a hand beneath her back to support her. Jasper lead the kiss with experience and allowed breaks for Iris to breathe, and Iris took these opportunities to admire Jasper's strong features more closely than she ever had. Her legs wrapped around Jasper's waist and she tugged on her collar again to warrant another kiss. "More." She murmured, and Jasper happily obliged.  
  
Both of them lost track of how many times the song had looped, the earbuds like a red string of fate connecting them. Jasper's body had pressed down and left little space between them to speak of, and Iris' hands slid down her sides, then tugged at the belt loops of her jeans. She earned a grunt from Jasper that made her grin mid-kiss and arch her body, pressing closer. Jasper sought vengeance and broke the kiss much to Iris' chagrin, but it was only to trail kisses along her jawline, and then further. Slow, intimate kisses down her neck and stopping to linger just above her collarbone, sucking on the sensitive skin and leaving a cluster of dark marks. Each made Iris' breath catch and her body sing with pleasure. Her hands began wandering through the fields of Jasper's ivory mane, her fingers tangled in her hair, and Jasper's name left her lips in the sweetest murmur. And yet ... Jasper slipped away from her grasp all too soon.  
  
"I ..." Jasper looked at the mess she had made of Iris. She didn't know why she was doing this. She wanted to keep going, but ... at the same time, she really wanted to stop. She felt shame, casting her gaze elsewhere.  
  
"... What's wrong?" Iris was equally in awe, but unlike Jasper, felt no shame. She sat up and touched her shoulder, squeezing it softly. She felt much more comfortable touching her after that experience. "What's the matter?"  
  
"I'm not ready. Not ... ready for ..." She gestured vaguely, and Iris couldn't tell if she meant her or herself. "... **this.** I'm not. Not yet." She took her smartphone and flipped through the song list to try and distract herself. Iris could hear the first second of multiple songs playing through her earbud, and she sighed, reaching up to touch Jasper's face and capture her attention.  
  
"You don't have to be. Jasper, it's okay. You're okay."  
  
Jasper took a deep breath. She led Iris on like that -- and herself too, admittedly -- but wasn't pressured to continue. Iris didn't say it outloud, but she forgave her in an instant, wrapping her arms around her neck and holding her in a loving embrace.  
  
"I've got you."


	9. We Need to Talk

Jasper dropped off Iris back at the Diamond Family home later that evening. For whatever reason, during the awkward silence on the way back to the apartment, Iris declared that she was ready to face her mother again. Jasper had offered to go in with her, but Iris insisted she go alone.  
  
"I'm home." Jasper entered her apartment, threw her jacket lazily over the coat rack, and immediately collapsed into her cozy recliner with her arms crossed.  
  
"Whoa." Peridot sat on the couch across from her, curled up around a tablet that seemed to be running a youtube playlist of nothing but cat videos. "You don't look so good. Did a bunch of freshmen teepee you?"  
  
"No." She sighed. "If only."  
  
"Jasper?" Amethyst peered out from the bedroom, and instantly rushed to Jasper's side. "Hey, are you okay? What the hell happened?" She held her hand firmly to reassure her that she wasn't alone. They were extremely close and Amethyst knew the moment something was wrong with her. But she was only met with silence. "... Don't tell me."  
  
"She, uh ..." Jasper pinched the bridge of her nose and took a breathe. "Lapis. She's still at that school. She's a lifeguard there."  
  
"Oh no." Both Ame and Peri began in unison, though Peridot was the one to continue. "Did she talk to you?"  
  
"No. Didn't give her a chance. She was with Ruby and her sisters, and she saw me, and I just ..." She unfolded her arms and gestured in front of her, like she could still see Lapis standing right there before her. Her throat grew tight. "... I ran."  
  
Amethyst hopped onto the armrest and brushed the hair out of Jasper's face. "C'mere, sis." She wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her close to her chest. "It's gonna be okay."  
  
Jasper swallowed harshly. "And I kind of ... fucked up with Ruby. I was sulking and being compulsive and I took advantage of her. She already forgave me, but then she wanted to go home, so I feel like I drove her off, and ..." A certain teddy bear on the couch caught her eye over Amethyst's shoulder. One wearing an eyepatch covered in tacky dollar store stickers. She clutched her stomach.  
  
Peridot glanced at the teddy bear she was staring at, then discarded her tablet and crossed the living room to give her a pat on the back. "You've come a long way, Jasper. Heck, I remember when Amethyst never had a decent hair day because you noogied her into submission every morning as a way to express your daily frustration."  
  
"As if I have a good hair day nowadays anyway." Amethyst snorted. "I'm glad that trend's over though. Lemme tell ya, a rug burn on the cranium is **not** the best way to start a morning."  
  
Jasper smirked and let out a weak chuckle, wrapping one arm around each of her roommates to pull them into a group hug and give each a kiss on the forehead. "What a couple of nerds."  
  
"Nerds?!" Ame's voice cracked. "Don't lump me in with her! I'm a bonafide _rock goddess_ , and I know the lyrics to **all** of Mike Krol's songs, while P-dot over here's going to the concert after listening to only one of his songs like, what. Twice?"  
  
Peridot snarled and tugged at Amethyst's cheek. "Hey, I had it on loop for _at least_ half an hour. That's more than twice."  
  
Jasper bumped their heads together and they recoiled with a chorus of swears. "Alright, break it up." She stood up and cracked her neck with an excruciating snapping sound. "It's time to make dinner."  
  
"You mean order takeout." Amethyst shot two finger guns.  
  
"You're damn right."  
  
\--  
  
It had been five days since Iris had unofficially moved back home. All of her belongings were still at the Quartz's apartment, so this was assuredly temporary, especially with how things were going. Her mother had only spoken briefly with her, but Miss Diamond made it quite clear that she thought Iris was throwing her life down the drain and 'gallivanting like a teenager wouldn't put her on the path to success'. The entire conversation led nowhere, so Iris didn't bother to keep it memorized. Although she didn't text Jasper that first night, she did the night after, just to tell her that everything was fine but her mom was still an ass. This cleared the tension between them enough for them to text regularly again.  
  
"Tell her I said hi~" Navy sang as she sat beside Iris, Doc, and Leggy, with a freshly popped bowl of popcorn. She didn't have to ask to know who Iris was texting; it was common knowledge at this point. The four of them were watching 'Legally Blonde' to make up for lost bonding time and partially to make up to Iris for interrogating her about the hickies on her neck. Of course she eventually spilled the beans to them about what happened to satiate their curiosity, and didn't bother to hide them now. She sort of wore them with pride. She wasn't saying that outloud though.  
  
"Jasper says hi back."  
  
Leggy leaned on Iris' shoulder and pulled the blanket around her. "Are you moving back in with her soon?"  
  
Iris rested her phone in her lap to return her attention to the movie. "I think so."  
  
"But we can come visit, right?" She was so sickeningly sweet and innocent like a newborn puppy. Ever since the incident at the pool, she and Navy felt they were at fault for what happened and were being extra courteous of Iris' feelings because of it.  
  
Iris smiled. "All the time." She wrapped an arm around her youngest sister and held her close. The movie went uninterrupted from there except for the occasional outburst of laughter over their favorite scenes; this was one of those movies they had watched countless times as kids. But Iris' attention drifted elsewhere halfway through, and she grew too distracted to watch it. She picked up her phone.  
  
[Ruby] hey  
[Jasper] What's up?  
[Ruby] Do you wanna go somewhere tonight?  
[Jasper] What do you mean  
[Ruby] Just. Hang out  
[Jasper] Oh, yeah sure. How about the gym on the hill?  
[Jasper] I was going there tonight anyway  
[Ruby] Ok. I know where that is.  
  
Iris exhaled softly. "We made plans."  
  
Doc leaned forward to look her way. "Friend-type plans or date-type plans?" She dug a hand in the half-empty bowl of popcorn and Navy gasped, defensively flinging unpopped kernels at her. They proceeded to have a mini kernel war amidst the conversation.  
  
"Friend-type plans." She glanced back to her phone and scrolled down.  
  
[Jasper] I'll seeya there.  
  
\--  
  
Iris stepped into a gym that had 'THE FORGE' in the boldest fontface possible up front. The gym itself was incredibly spacious on the inside, with rows of treadmills and benches as far as the eye could see. Mirrors lined one of the walls and made the facility appear larger than it already was. The hard floors were tiled with marble around the entrance and counter, and carpeted thinly in navy blue beneath all of the workout equipment. Estelle's 'Time After Time' blared loudly from the overhead speakers built into the ceiling.  
  
A wide, burly-looking lass was spotting one of the lifters, and dusted off her hands as they finished their last rep. Her rainbow-dyed dreadlocks were pulled back into a high ponytail, and her skin was a cool, dark tone, wrapped around the most impressive set of muscles from head to toe. She had on a heather gray tanktop with lowcut sleeve holes and 'THE FORGE' plastered across the front, with matching sweatpants.  
  
She caught sight of Iris out of the corner of her baby blue eyes and threw open her arms. "Well, well, **well!** If my eyes do deceive me! Is that really you Hot Hands? Or is Doc tryin' to play tricks on me again?"  
  
"Good to see you too, Bismuth. How long's it been? A couple years?" Iris dropped a gym bag she borrowed from Leggy beside one of the benches. She wore the same red tank top and burgundy shorts from her visits to the bowling alley.  
  
She laughed heartily and without shame. She had enough energy to power a city, and enough optimism to brighten up anyone's day. After all this time, she was still the happy-go-lucky girl Iris remembered her to be. "I'll say! It's been a minute!" She shook Iris' hand. Her grip was firm and confident. "What brings ya here?"  
  
As if on cue, the door opened and the bell rang, signalling Jasper's entrance. She was barefoot in a white 'THE FORGE' t-shirt so formfitting that a single flex might tear it, and corduroy shorts that exposed a set of calves so fit they could knock a man's head clean off his shoulders.  
  
' _No._ ' Iris mentally scolded herself, ' _Now's not the time for intrusive gay thoughts._ '  
  
"Stripes." Bismuth placed one hand on her hip as Jasper approached her, and the two locked hands, biceps flexed. "The hell are you doin' showin' your ugly face in **my** gym? You're gonna scare off all my nightly visitors!"  
  
"Get used to it, Bis. I'm here every night." She pulled Bismuth in and they bumped shoulders in a gesture of good-will between rivals.  
  
"Here every night, and you still can't beat my lifting record."  
  
"That's because you have pectorals the size of a barn." She punched her hard enough to knock the wind out of her, and Bismuth returned it with a suckerpunch to the gut. "That's right! You gotta work for it if you want pecs like these!"  
  
"No thanks. I'd rather not skip leg day. That's why I'm the best deadlifter you've got."  
  
Bismuth broke out into another one of her trademark belly laughs, giving Jasper a few strong pats on the back. "Get outta here! I was just talkin' to Hot Hands. She used to come around these parts. You two know eachother?"  
  
Iris' wide-eyed gaze darted elsewhere. She was nowhere near ready to make direct eye contact with Jasper since the last time she did so was in the hot seat of that Kia Sorento. She pressed the cool side of her hand against her flushed cheek.  
  
Jasper was also far from composed. She could still see the remnants of the neck kisses faded but visible beneath Iris' tank top strap, and the sweet taste of her skin felt fresh on her tongue. She licked her lips and took a step back. "I, uh ..."  
  
"Welp!! Looks like ya'll got somethin' heavy goin' on sooooo ..." Bismuth threw out a two finger salute. "Lemme know if ya'll need a spotter! I'll be over there." She bailed out of that tense situation as quick as she could to attend to some of her other guests. She loved gossip as much as the next person, but these were two girls that had her deepest respect.  
  
"Jasper."  
  
She flinched at the sound of her name, and blinked. Iris was the one to initiate eye contact.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
\--  
  
"We met in sophomore year." Jasper had two 40 pound dumbbells, one in each hand, doing sets of 20 bicep curls against the wall. "I'd seen her around when I was a freshman, and I thought she was really pretty. I tried to get her attention. _A lot._ And I got frustrated when she paid me no mind. Granted, I was ... **not** a good person back then."  
  
Iris sat on a bench across from her with a 25 pound dumbell doing a series of slow lateral raises. "So I've heard."  
  
"Being around a bunch of kids my age just fueled my bad decisions. I beat the hell out of my fair share of freshmen and seniors alike. I failed classes. Detention was my free period. And it wasn't just in the school ... A bunch of us would hang out at the stomping ground in the suburbs after hours, and she was there. I kept trying to convince her these punks didn't give a shit about her. And one of those days when I asked her out ..." She dropped her dumbbells off on the rack and sat down on the bench opposite of Iris. "... She actually said yes. And the year that we spent dating was ... bad."  
  
Iris halted mid-raise. "... How bad?"  
  
"We, uh ..." She swallowed. "We were really bad for eachother. Dating her just made me more aggressive. I used her as a status symbol, to make myself feel stronger. And she talked shit about me. She knew how bad I was, and she made sure I knew it. But when I started having regrets about dating her, she wouldn't let me go. And then, when we finally _did_ split up ..." Her eyes shut tight. "I wanted to go back to her."  
  
"Why?" Iris would have never guessed that Lapis was like that, though she did seem awfully mysterious the few times she had spoken with her. From what her sisters' had told her though, she was rather pleasant. Though that could be because of their massive crush on her.  
  
"Because I missed **feeling** something. Even if it was bad, at least I could feel it with her."  
  
"Well, you're right. You were shitty." Iris didn't sugarcoat it. "But you still didn't deserve that." Jasper gripped the edge of the bench and turned away, insecure. Iris continued. "What changed?"  
  
"Peridot and Amethyst met at the arcade and became best friends. Amethyst insisted she live with us, at least for a while, because she got kicked out of her home. Then she helped me get that job at the bowling alley. Amethyst started organizing regular family visits to get my mind off things and we started talking more about our problems. She always bottled things up, and I always took my feelings out on other people. We figured talking it out was a better way. And then, I ... met you."  
  
"O-oh." Iris stuttered. All this talk made it seem like these events transpired so long ago, but in reality, it was recent. For her to have even played a part in Jasper's recovery was ... an honor. She shook it off and managed a rebound. "How's that been workin' out for ya?"  
  
This heavily reminded Jasper of the first time they met. The way Iris rushed to make a comeback was oh so similar to how Jasper had to make an excuse for staring at her every time she walked into the bowling alley.  
  
She smirked. "Well, she's hell in a handbasket. But I like that about her. She's got style, a wild and crazy bed of hair, and this cute little laugh that makes her nose scrunch up like a rabbit's."  
  
This sent Iris into an uncontrollable fit of giggles that she futilely attempted to mask with her hands over her mouth and her knees pulled to her chest. It didn't matter what she did, Jasper could still hear her snort, and it was more than enough to make her laugh as well. She rose from her seat and joined Iris on the other bench, where a touch upon Iris' shoulder ceased her laughter instantly. Jasper examined her somberly.  
  
"Y'know ... I never said I'm sorry." She brushed the back of her fingers along the hickies that were still visible, causing Iris to shiver.  
  
"I wasn't exactly the most unwilling target ..." She murmured, pulling her tank top strap over those marks. "But I already forgave you." Jasper squeezed her shoulder and took a shallow breath, and Iris placed her hand over hers. "Jasper, you're not bad like you were back then. If you were, you probably wouldn't have stopped like you did."  
  
"... Did I scare you?"  
  
The question surprised Iris. She didn't feel a bit of fear at that time. Hell, she hadn't felt any kind of fear around Jasper. She was either very brave or very ignorant, but Jasper's presence was a comforting one to her, even if Jasper was fully capable of snapping her neck.  
  
... She really needed to stop self-expressing her attraction with romanticized examples of how Jasper could end her existence.  
  
"No. Not at all."  
  
Jasper smiled. She caught her in a surprise headlock and whispered, "You're a fearless little bottle rocket, aren'tcha?" To which, Iris bit her arm and jabbed her in the side with two fingers; she was well-armed in the self-defense department so nothing truly surprised her. "I kicked your ass in the ring, didn't I? Don't tempt me. I'll do it again."  
  
"Alright. That's it." She swept her up into her arms and started for the door. Iris' eye went wide and she turned to Bismuth, who was in the biggest laughing fit at the sight.  
  
She flicked Jasper on the forehead. "What the hell are you doing?!"  
  
"SHE'S CARRYIN' YOU ACROSS THE THRESHOLD, GIRL!!" Bismuth hollered and laughed even harder, slamming her hand on the counter. There wasn't an ounce of air left in her lungs.  
  
"I'm taking you home." She picked up Iris' gym bag on the way out the door. "My home."  
  
Iris blinked. "But I didn--"  
  
"I missed you." Jasper confessed and made a beeline for the Kia. For however many steps it was from here to the car, she was brave enough to be open. "I've kinda just done my own thing at home. Stayed in my room. But while you were there, I came out of my shell and felt like _doing things_ again. Even if it was just to watch reruns on TV, or dunk paperballs in the trash can across the room. Or just sitting on the couch with you and not even talking for hours, having your company was ..."  
  
She stopped at the back of the Sorento. She said nothing more, staring blankly ahead through the back window.  
  
Iris climbed out of her arms and peered up at her, awestruck. That week she spent in the apartment, she spent assuming she was a burden. Jasper was always distant and sitting alone in the living room, and Iris was the one to sit with her. Iris was the one initiating conversations. Iris had actively tried to get Jasper out of her shell, but never really succeeded. Yet it was those times she had given up on trying, and simply remained in her company, that Jasper remembered most fondly.  
  
She tugged on the hem of Jasper's tee.  
  
"Let's go home."


	10. Coming Out

Sunlight broke through scattered grey clouds in waves, trickling through the blinds and casting over the far wall of Jasper's bedroom. Raindrops from a light drizzle pitter-pattered against the window pane and filled the otherwise silent apartment. Her room was shaded in the pink hue of the 8am dawn.  
  
Jasper laid on her stomach with beige linen sheets pulled up to her waist. She still wore 'THE FORGE' tee from yesterday, and her pillow was tucked underneath her chin. She groaned at the painful reality of reaching consciousness. The sunlight was thankfully minimal due to the light showers on this particular morning, and though the florida summer survived with murderous intent, the rain made it pleasantly lukewarm and only mildly humid in her room. That might be why it took her this long to notice she was sharing body heat with someone else.  
  
Lying beside her was Iris, on top of the covers and sprawled out comfortably. She had on one of Leggy's pink Hayley Kiyoko shirts and red short-shorts that she had left in her gym bag. She slept so ungracefully and snored to her heart's content.  
  
Most nights, Jasper sat out on the couch with Iris until she passed out, knowing that she had difficulty falling asleep alone. But this was the first time Iris had climbed into her bed in the middle of the night. She routinely found her oversleeping in the mornings with one leg hanging off the couch. This was a pleasant surprise.  
  
Jasper spent minutes watching her with a grin on her face. There was something especially soothing about how innocent she looked in slumber. Her eyepatch had slipped up onto her forehead due to the nature of rolling around in bed all night, exposing slightly paler, scarred skin surrounding her left eye. Jasper lifted one hand to her face, softly running her thumb along her eyelid, and then her cheekbone, before pulling the eyepatch back down into it's proper place.  
  
This stirred Iris, grumbling and yawning from her rest, to the image of a certain someone beside her. Jasper still laid on her stomach, propped up on her elbows with her hands clasped together on her pillow, and her hair fallen to one side. Iris' eyesight was still bleary with sleep and only enhanced the dreamlike effect. A smirk similar to Jasper's pulled at her lips, but just as quickly vanished. Her eye shot open.  
  
"I'm not asleep, am I?"  
  
"Nope." Jasper cackled, and Iris sat straight up to rub the sleep out of her eye.  
  
"... Was I drinking last night?" She phrased it delicately, but in a way that 'was i drinking' translated clearly to 'did we do anything'.  
  
"No. We don't even have alcohol in the house. Unless you drank the rest of that cranberry juice and really got a buzz from it."  
  
Iris eyed her suspiciously. She lifted the sheets and peeked underneath them into the darkness of what lied within. And whatever it was that lied within, made her laugh. It was just a chuckle at first. But it soon enough knocked her back into the gutwrenching kind of laugh the more she thought about it.  
  
"I'm guessing you liked what you saw." Jasper rested her chin in the palm of her hand and poked Iris in the side, which just made her laugh harder.  
  
"Flannel? F-- ... flannel **boxers?** " She managed to choke out at some point, clutching the sheets and her cheeks growing red. "Are you _that_ much of a lesbian?"  
  
"I might be." Jasper took a peek under the sheets herself; they were a lucky pair of boxers that she had owned for a while now. She had just forgotten her reason for getting them in the first place was for the lesbian aesthetic. "You can't tell me you don't own at least one flannel."  
  
Her laughter died down. She scratched at her stomach where her shirt had rode up her side and looked a little uneasy. "Not ... really? ... I've never really thought about it before."  
  
Questioning was one thing. But to have never had her sexuality cross her mind, and at her age? Jasper was already thinking about it at 15, and here was Iris at nearly 25 without a clue about her own.  
  
"Wait." Jasper sat up on her knees, letting the sheets fall off her back. "So you mean ... back when we were in the Kia ..." She pointed one finger out toward her. "... that was your ..... ?"  
  
"First time."  
  
"Oh." Jasper was the one to blush this time. She rubbed the back of her neck and glanced out the window to the faroff traffic on the highway. "Sorry. It's just ... You're so pretty. Guys must've been all over you in high school."  
  
"Probably. I was too busy to notice. Too busy to notice anything, really. I've always been trying to better myself, that I never stopped to learn more about myself."  
  
Jasper climbed out of bed and stretched out far enough for her fingertips to graze the ceiling. She took a few steps to open the closet and feel around for a particular item of clothing.  
  
"It's never too late to try."  
  
\--  
  
Peridot stood in front of the bathroom mirror straightening out the cuffs of her work shirt. Her eager-to-help girlfriend was brushing her silky blonde hair and putting in the purple hairclips that Peri wore just for her.  
  
"Everything ship-shape now?" Peri murmured sleepily as she finished buttoning up her shirt.  
  
"Wait. I have another one. It's that one we got from the toy capsule machines outside the mall that matches your glow-in-the-dark brooch."  
  
Peridot gasped and turned to kiss her cheek. "I thought we lost that one in the couch forever!"  
  
"Yup!" Amethyst giggled and clipped it at the edge of her bangs. "I was looking for quarters in the cushions and it was just ... right there, starin' me in the face."  
  
They walked out just in time to meet with Jasper in the middle of the intersection between the bathroom and bedrooms. Jasper was also dressed in her work clothes with her car keys twirling around her finger. "Hey Per. Ready to go?"  
  
Neither her nor Amethyst responded. Their focus was entirely on who just walked out of Jasper's bedroom ... wearing one of Jasper's gray and orange flannels. It was entirely too big for Iris; it fell to her knees, the sleeves folded over her hands, and the fabric bunched up at the shoulders. Jasper followed their line of sight to see Iris standing there with a pout on her face.  
  
"They're assuming things ..." She hissed, and Jasper snickered, looking back to her sister and her girlfriend, who had stars in their eyes. Amethyst whispered, "You _got_ some, sis?!", but Jasper quickly shushed her.  
  
"Iris never had a label before, so ... I'm letting her try out 'lesbian' by wearing my flannel for good luck. Be good to her today, Ame. Maybe you can give her some tips, being the grade A gay that you are." Jasper ruffled her matted silver hair as she passed her by to leave the apartment, and Peri gave her more than a few goodbye kisses on her way out as well.  
  
Amethyst blew one last kiss just before Peridot could shut the door, then turned to Iris with a sly smirk on her face.  
  
"Gettin' cozy with my sis, were ya?"  
  
"I woke up in the middle of the night, and I couldn't get back to sleep." Iris pulled at her shirt sleeves to give her hands some air, but the sleeves fell right back down over them again. She growled. "Maybe I got a little cozy ..."  
  
"Bawww, that's cute though! Jasper's always a grump in the mornings. I think you really cheered her up." Amethyst gave her a light punch on the shoulder and left for the kitchen, yawning all the while. She was only ever perky in the mornings until Peridot left. The moment the door closed, she instantaneously fell back into a half-conscious mumbling state of exhaustion that required at least two cups of coffee to regain proper function.  
  
Iris fumbled through the fabric of the flannel sleeves to pull her phone out of the shirt pocket. She turned the corner into the bathroom, opening the snapchat app and taking a quick selfie in the mirror to send to her sisters. One from the front and one from the back to show the hem nearly reached her calves. She then rounded into the kitchen after, where Amethyst handed her a separate cup of coffee without a word between them; living with the Quartzes for a week meant Amethyst and Iris had bonded over their need for morning coffee.  
  
She took her mug out to the living room to sit in Jasper's recliner. The TV was off and the room was quiet. She could hear the occasional clatter of dishware from the kitchen where Amethyst was making breakfast, and the hum of cars driving by the apartment complex. It was a pleasant kind of silence. Her house was too far from the road to hear cars, and in the mornings, Leggy and Navy were off to school and Doc was off to work. Everything in that house was the very definition of silence, but here, there was the drone of daily life. Sounds from the kitchen or bedrooms or bathroom or sounds from the city. She had grown to deeply appreciate this, and sitting here enjoying it for a solid 30 minutes was a pleasure.  
  
Her phone buzzed and she picked it up to see, surprisingly, only a few texts from Doc.  
  
[Doc] They saw your snaps.  
[Doc] I confiscated their phones so they wouldn't text you into oblivion.  
[Doc] But they're dying to know what happened.  
  
[Ruby] Oh  
[Doc] And so am I, actually.  
[Ruby] No we didn't do anything she just gave me her shirt  
[Doc] Thank you  
[Navy] Aaawwwwwww maaaan  
[Leggy] i ALMOST died  
[Navy] What DID happen then??  
[Leggy] almost  
[Ruby] We were talking about like  
[Ruby] Sexuality and stuff  
[Navy] And????  
[Doc] Hers or yours?  
[Ruby] Uhh a little of both. She let me wear her flannel  
[Ruby] because I'm questioning.  
[Leggy] U ARE?!?  
[Ruby] I might be a lesbian.  
[Doc] "might"  
[Ruby] Yeah i MIGHT be. But....?  
[Navy] Girl you can tell us!!! You were so sweet when me and Leggy came out  
[Leggy] YEAAA!  
[Ruby] Well I've kinda wanted to date girls before but never much more than that  
[Doc] Did something change?  
[Ruby] No its just. Different with Jasper. I wanted to kiss her from the start but  
[Ruby] The more i got to know her, the more i wanted to do...?  
[Doc] Saucy~  
[Navy] OH WAIT I KNOW THIS ONE!!1  
[Navy] You're probably like... homoromantic, but also!  
[Navy] You might be demisexual!!  
[Leggy] OMG NAVYS RIGHT  
  
Iris furrowed her brow. She knew the vague definition, but she looked it up for clarity.  
  
"Demisexuality is a sexual orientation in which someone feels sexual attraction only to people with ... whom they have an emotional bond." She read it aloud, though grew quiet with the last few words.  
  
"What'cha readin'?" Amethyst dropped off a plate of toast and bacon on the recliner armrest, and took her own plate with her to the couch across the room.  
  
"My sisters are trying to help me figure things out." She waved her flannel shirt sleeve in reference to the whole orientation discussion. "We've established I'm a lesbian."  
  
"Righteous!" Amethyst fist pumped and took a crunchy bite of toast.  
  
"That label just didn't seem to explain everything. So Navy thinks I might be demisexual too."  
  
The Quartz girl gasped, hopped in her seat a little bit, and clapped excitedly. "Dude! DUDE! Peridot's on the spectrum too!! She's demiromantic!" She took another bite of toast. "I was crushing on her while we were still casual friends, but we became best friends pretty quick and she explained it to me. So I kinda backed off, y'know? I wanted to respect that. But then **of course** she started crushing on me after a while too, but I already thought there might not be a chance she'd feel the same way, so even when she was being **super** gay I was over here thinking ' _she's demi, it's probably just a coincidence._ ' Well she was demi. REALLY demi. For me, that is." She winked and downed half a glass of OJ.  
  
"Wow." Iris snorted. She reopened the group chat.  
  
[Navy] THUN THUN THUN  
[Leggy] AAAYYYY  
[Ruby] So  
[Doc] DONT DROP THAT  
[Doc] Oh hey  
[Ruby] I think Navy's right.  
[Navy] I'M BEAMING  
[Leggy] Ohh are u sure????  
[Ruby] I'm...pretty sure.  
[Ruby] Actually I'm really sure.  
[Doc] Eeeeyyy congrats girl!!  
[Navy] IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!  
[Doc] Better late than never.  
[Leggy] AAAAAHHHHHH  
  
 _Incoming call..._  
  
\--  
  
"It's sooo SLOOOOOW." Peridot whined in an extra nasally tone, her face pressed against the cool material of the counter. They had all of two teams playing games in the alleys, and one person having a drink at the bar. "Why do we have to open this earlyyy ..."  
  
"For the senior citizens." Jasper stated the obvious. She looked to be equally bored out of her skull, only mildly engaged by a game of solitaire on the desktop computer.  
  
Peridot climbed onto the counter and sprawled out across it as comfortably as one could be on a hard surface, resting her head on her purse. She whipped out her smartphone adorned with a tiny alien dust plug and checked her texts.  
  
"Amethyst was just talking about me!" She gasped gayly. The thought slowly sank in and she grew increasingly flustered, rolling over and snickering in her classic 'nyehehe' style of laughing, tapping away at the onscreen keyboard.  
  
Jasper came this close to shoving her off of the counter in good fun. But she didn't feel like getting chewed out by Amethyst for 'bullying her girlfriend' and then have to tolerate the sickeningly sweet sound of Ame kissing bruises to make Peri giggle. She instead chose to counter their incessant flirting with her own attempt to flirt. Or in very the least, her own attempt to make casual conversation. She dialed her number by memory.  
  
\--  
  
Iris nearly tossed her phone when she heard the intro lyrics to 'One Bad Night' by Hayley Kiyoko begin blaring from the speaker and disturbing the quiet of the room. She swiped right to answer the call just before the lyric 'Suck on your amber lips' could finish, knowing that she had set that ringtone for Jasper's number specifically. She held her hand over the speaker and whispered, _"Don't say a word."_ to the highly amused Amethyst.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Ruby." The greeting came through quite sultry. If she was going for flirty, she succeeded.  
  
"... Hi ..... " She squinted one eye and mouthed ' _what the hell?_ ' to Amethyst, and Ame swirled both hands in the air to imply she should roll with it. "... How's ... how's work?"  
  
"Well, I've played five games of solitaire and I've lost every single one. Although I haven't tried minesweeper yet, and I'm feeling lucky."  
  
"You're not working at all, are you?"  
  
"Nope." Jasper bit her lip, and Iris could hear her choke back a chuckle before she put on that sultry tone again. "So ... what are you wearing?"  
  
Peridot's laugh broke through the receiver, and was soon followed by Amethyst cackling after Peri texted her what Jasper just said.  
  
"What do you THINK I'm wearin'?!" Iris threw one arm up, her sleeve falling and bunching up around her elbow. "You left me here in this ... this ..." She grumbled, failing to finish her sentence. "I look like I'm wearin' a damn snuggie!!"  
  
Jasper had to take a moment to regain composure after that; getting Iris all up in arms about anything always made her laugh. "Wow!" She punched out the word, if only to be heard over the chorus of Peri and Ame's gigglefits. "I have _never_ seen anyone make a snuggie look that good."  
  
"Nnnn ..." She made a sound of indecision, sinking deeper into Jasper's recliner the longer this phone call went on. "Probably looks better on you." If she was talking on a wired phone, this would be about the time she'd twirl her finger in the coiled cord. The only thing she had to occupy her hand for now was the button on the cuff of this flannel. "... Why don't I keep it warm for you until you get home?"  
  
The question went unanswered. She was met with silence, and she bit her lower lip to stop herself from smirking. She knew she had just left Jasper speechless, and there was a unique kind of euphoria that came along with that. There was the sound of shuffling and a couple of soft thuds on the other end.  
  
"Hey Ruby," Jasper picked up, but not from where they left off. She had something else in mind. "It's your song."  
  
Iris squinted, unable to hear anything at first. It was playing over the ceiling speakers of the bowling alley and made it almost impossible to hear from the phone, until Jasper turned it up on the desktop computer nearby.  
  
"Ohh ... this is the Austin Johnson remix. You wouldn't recognize it from the intro, would you?" She could hear Jasper's smirk clear in her voice. She grew more and more suspicious by the second until the lyrics started.  
  
' _Baby, you know that I miss you,_  
 _I wanna get with you,_  
 _Tonight but I cannot babygirl and that's the issue,_  
 _Girl you know I miss you,_  
 _I just wanna kiss you,_  
 _But I can't right now so baby kiss me through the pho-_ '  
  
The beat dropped and Iris groaned heavily. "Ohh noooo ..." A small part of her was flattered Jasper remembered that was one of her favorite songs, but the larger part of her felt regret.  
  
Jasper tapped along to the bassline. She let the instrumental play out, and Iris realized what she was about to do the split second before she started singing.  
  
"Baby, you know that I miss you.  
I wanna get with you,  
Tonight but I cannot babygirl and that's the issue~"  
  
"Jasperrr ..."  
  
"Girl you know I miss you.  
I just wanna _kiss you._ "  
  
Her heart stopped.  
  
"But I can't right now so baby kiss me through the phone ..."  
  
Iris pulled the flannel over her face flushed bright red with color, her wide eye darting to Amethyst who was wildly texting Peridot to figure out what the hell Jasper just did to make her react that way. Jasper was still singing to her, in fact, but spoke the last line.  
  
"See you when I get home."  
  
Jasper's voice vanished, but the rest of the song played out. "Fuuuck ..." Iris breathed out and clutched her chest. It was hell being serenaded so easily and so effectively by someone she was in bed with just an hour ago. Amethyst was about to ask a question, but Iris answered prematurely, and breathlessly.  
  
"I'm so gay."  
  
\--  
  
Jasper had laid the phone still-in-call beside the desktop speakers and only ended the call once the song was over. She flashed a cheeky grin toward Peridot. "How was the reaction?"  
  
"Judging by Ame, it was really, _really_ good." Peri didn't bother to look away from the texts; the style of texting she did with her girlfriend was fast-paced and deserved every second of attention.  
  
Jasper pressed her knuckles against her lip and her gaze moved elsewhere; she'd be lying if she said Iris' last comment and the way she groaned her name in the midst of the song didn't get to her. The work day was either gonna be a lot easier or a lot harder with that floating about in the back of her mind. She picked up her phone; the screen had switched back to the contact list as it always did after ending a call. Many of her contacts were named with an initial to recognize the caller. The only exceptions to this were Amethyst's being 'Sis', Peridot's being 'Nerd', and Iris' being 'Unnamed Contact'. Around the time she usually would have changed that, she had already memorized her number, so changing it lacked purpose. But she felt like a change. And she had a nickname just in mind for her.  
  
She clicked the 'edit name' field, cleared it, and typed something new.

  
  
'My Little Fireball'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Asexual Awareness Week! Sometimes labels don't fit, sometimes they fit perfectly, and sometimes you need more than one. You're valid no matter what.
> 
> I'll now be taking a hiatus from this fic to work on some things on my tumblr blog, but don't fret! I'll return to update this fic soon. Hopefully within a month.
> 
> Thank you so so much to everyone who has made this fic such a success. Whether you left kudos or comments, or just read it, I'm so grateful and happy that everyone has enjoyed it. Make sure to subscribe or bookmark or follow me on tumblr @snapbacksteven to be the first to know when this fic updates.
> 
> Until then, thanks for reading 'My Little Fireball'!


	11. Test Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: If you're a minor, if you're sex-repulsed, or if you're just generally uncomfortable with sexual situations, I recommend skipping to the end of this chapter, where the notes will tell you whatever you need to move on. But the events that take place here will continue to be talked about in Chapter 12.

It had been a long week of sexual tension. With Jasper and Iris having reached the stage of comfortably flirting with eachother, they were challenging Ame and Peri when it came to being overwhelmingly sapphic.  
  
The weather had graced Beach City with a refreshingly cool and breezy evening that weekend. Steven and Greg had spent the last couple of hours in the Quartz apartment while Amethyst and Peridot got ready for the big night. Ame had dressed in every piece of rocker-style apparel she could possibly wear without overheating; an Arctic Monkeys band tee, violet jeans torn at the thighs, a chain belt that jingled when she walked, and a leather jacket with the image of a hand holding a rose on the back. She looked to be a couple of inches taller than Peridot, due to the lifts in her black boots.  
  
"What would you do without me?" She clasped a necklace around Peridot's neck, one that held a cute little pendant of grapes on it. She knew her girlfriend wasn't one to dress up for the occasion, so she supported her nerdy aesthetic.  
  
"Probably kiss and cuddle the Amethyst body pillow in my closet." She said it so matter-of-factly that Jasper half-wondered if she was lying or not. She passed her by to open the door.  
  
"Drive safe, Greg. Call me if you have car trouble."  
  
"Hoo boy ... Can't believe my van's only famous for giving me car trouble." He lead the pack out of the apartment, followed by Steven giving Jasper a high five on his way out, and Amethyst giving her the obligatory sister hug that she always gave her before going on trips. Peridot rushed to grab her phone and purse, then followed Amethyst out before Jasper shut the door.  
  
Iris turned to look over the top of the recliner and watch the Mr. Universe van merge with the busy traffic of the weekend rush. She tapped her fingers along the upholstery, a glisten in her eye, her attention flickering to the tall drink of water beside her.  
  
Jasper turned away from the door and began to walk back to the kitchen ... but was promptly smacked on the ass. She glanced back to see Iris shaking her hand like her ass was made of iron.  
  
"Hey." She laughed it off and leaned against the armrest. "Y'know ... We're alone now."  
  
In reality, the more they bonded, the more the roles reversed; Iris had grown comfortable flirting with her, while Jasper was the one more often than not left speechless. The balance of power was quickly tipping in Iris' favor. And she was aware of this, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips when she saw Jasper's face turn red.  
  
"You're implying something."  
  
"Yes." She hopped off the recliner. She was still wearing Jasper's flannel, and had been since it was given to her. It was open, and beneath it she wore only a sports bra and shorts. The apartment wasn't nearly as air conditioned as her old home, so she had to adapt to the dwindling summer heat. "I'm implying that ..." She pressed a hand to Jasper's chest. "I want to be with you."  
  
Jasper's breath caught in her throat. She had a flashback to a few nights ago.  
  
\--  
  
"Ruby's gonna get freak-ay with big sis." Amethyst not-so-quietly whispered to Peridot, causing her to break out into a fit of cackles.  
  
The flashing lights of the TV flipping through channels lit up Iris' sneering expression. "Yeah, we get it, I'm demisexual. Doesn't mean I'm demi for Jasper."  
  
Peridot jabbed Amethyst in the side like she always did before making a clever quip. "Are you suuuuure about that? 'Cause the way you bite your lip when Jasper walks by is the same way Amethyst bites her lip when I wear that skirt she likes--" She only barely managed to slip out the last word before her girlfriend barraged her with two pillows in each hand.  
  
Jasper seemed occupied with the channel surfing Iris was doing, or rather, occupied with what she said. The two of them were sat in the floor together near the recliner. Iris caught sight of her tense jaw. "... Jasper? You okay?"  
  
"Is that true?" She rubbed the back of her neck to force out the tension. She couldn't believe she was asking this, and it was clear, as she was speaking quietly where the other two couldn't hear over the roar of the television.  
  
Iris knew what she meant, but she asked anyway. "Is ... what true?"  
  
"You're not ... attracted to me." Jasper fully expected Amethyst to bust a gut because she knew for a fact she heard that. But Ame had gone through the same insecurities with her demiromantic girlfriend, so she remained silent. "... Not attracted to me in _that_ way."  
  
How was she supposed to respond to that? She could've sat there, staring blankly at Jasper for a solid five minutes, but instead, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.  
  
"I've never been so attracted to anyone else in my life as I've been attracted to you."  
  
The biggest surprise for everyone, including Iris herself, was that she didn't lose face after saying that. She looked dead serious.  
  
For Jasper, that was the first time Iris ever really ... got to her. They'd had their moments before. But hearing it straight from her lips felt like a punch to the gut. In a good way.  
  
" _Yo._ " Amethyst was the first to speak up from the couch, leaning forward and squinting to get a better look at Jasper from across the room. "I've _never_ seen anyone shut you up like that, sis."  
  
"She ....." Jasper breathed out, though nothing followed. Her cheeks tinted red and she leaned back against the recliner, one hand wrapped around her mouth.  
  
"... Oh." Iris clutched her chest. " **Oh.** I fucked up." The realization was setting in. She whipped her head around to Amethyst and Peridot. "I fucked up, didn't I?"  
  
"Why?" Peridot was slouched as far down into the couch as one could get, likely from Amethyst's pillow barrage earlier. She snapped her fingers. "Ohhh, you mean **her.** "  
  
"Lapis." Jasper finally spoke up, and Iris' shoulders tensed at the mention of the name and the memories that came along with it. She feared the worst when she turned back around, but Jasper looked calm. Still flustered, but calm. "I'm ..." Jasper began to speak, but once again, was at a loss, sinking further against the recliner. She didn't want to say it outloud. "I'm not as torn up about her as I used to be, so ..."  
  
"Yeah, sis hasn't been interested in anyone since the breakup." Amethyst crammed a handful of chips into her mouth, sitting atop Peridot victoriously. "You're a lucky girl~."  
  
"It's just ..." Jasper's voice called Iris' attention back to her. "... I've already been thinking about this. And I know I said I wasn't ready for a commitment. And I'm not. But I still want to ....." She hesitated.  
  
"... What?"  
  
"I want to be with you."  
  
\--  
  
Jasper couldn't deny that she wanted her. She had ever since that steamy evening in the Kia Sorento. But she still felt unsure. Iris was a good person. Opening up to her enough to be intimate meant Iris could get mixed up in the mess Jasper considered herself to be. "... Are you sure you want to?"  
  
Iris' faltered, clutching the front of Jasper's shirt. "Oh, Jasper ..." She breathed her name in a tone sweeter than sin. "Of course I do. Could I make it anymore obvious?" She snickered, lightening the mood with that dorky little laugh of hers. "Are you sure ... _you_ want to?"  
  
Jasper swept her up instantly into her arms and smiled, so Iris knew the answer was yes. She slid her hands along the Quartz girl's impressive jawline, eagerly touching her lips to hers. It was her first time leading the kiss and she loved every second of it, with Jasper's strong arms around her and carrying her through their apartment. The kisses were quick and teasing, almost like Iris was taking revenge for Jasper riling her up in the car and leaving her exasperated. But Jasper only allowed it for the length of the hallway from the living room to her bedroom, where she tossed Iris onto the bed and laughed heartily. "Eager. I like that."  
  
"You think this is eager?" Iris snorted. She edged out of her shorts, her bra and underwear following, bouncing back on the bed with a laugh. She kept the flannel on, for some reason. It slipped down to her elbows when she leaned back against the headpost. "Imagine how I felt when you walked into The Forge nearly busting out of your shirt with a strong set of legs that could crush me."  
  
Jasper pulled her own shirt over her head and stopped herself, taking the time to see Iris fully undressed. Speaking of legs ... Iris had her own brand of thick hips and divinely plump thighs. Her entire body read the history of her experience in boxing and wrestling; there wasn't a single muscle within her that wasn't well-developed. Getting a good look at her like this, she could see how Iris held her own in the wrestling ring with her.  
  
Jasper dropped her shirt. "Oh ... the feeling's **very** mutual."   
  
"Alright, if you're gonna stare, it'll cost you extra." Iris crossed her arms defiantly and in a sudden rush of self-consciousness, puffing out her cheeks.  
  
"Mmhhmm." Jasper unzipped her jeans and slipped them off those strong set of legs Iris was speaking of earlier, causing her to swallow audibly. She watched her cross the bedroom to pull an MP3 speaker set out from behind some knick-knacks on the sidetable, flipping through a playlist and giving Iris a nice, long view of her from the back.  
  
Iris' whisper of ' _god damn_ ' was only drowned out by the intro to the first song Jasper played: Pillowtalk.  
  
 _'Climb on board ..._  
 _We'll go slow, and high tempo._  
 _Light and dark ..._  
 _Hold me hard and mellow.'_  
  
"If you remember ..." Jasper continued the conversation, climbing onto the bed and lying on her side next to Iris, tracing her knuckles down her midriff. "You still had those hickies on your neck at The Forge." She wrapped one strong hand around Iris' hip and squeezed. "You weren't the only one who was eager."  
  
Iris' half-lidded gaze drifted. She tilted her head back and tapped two fingers against her neck.  
  
"You want--"  
  
" **More.** " She demanded. "All I can think about is how good it felt when you kissed my neck."  
  
Jasper obliged without another word. Her lips grazed beneath Iris' jawline, then further to the nape of her neck, slathering every available inch of skin in kiss after kiss.  
  
What Iris wasn't fully aware of was just how much Jasper was holding back in the car. When she let herself go, she was **rough.** Each kiss grew more and more intense, that Iris could feel her teeth and the occasional bite sinking into her flesh.  
  
She _liked_ that.  
  
Jasper's fingers tangled in Iris' curls and pulled on her hair, inciting a pleasurable gasp from her. The sharp edge of her teeth scraped against her skin, and her hand traveled back down the length of her torso once more, sliding between her legs and squeezing her thigh, tempting. "You'll need to tell me what's okay with you and what's not."  
  
"Uh ..." Iris tried to catch her breath enough to speak. It wasn't the easiest task, with Jasper still forming a relentless trail of hickies across her collarbone and her hand at her thigh. "I'm not-- I ..... I don't really know yet." She stopped. "... What about you?"  
  
Jasper didn't answer her for a while. The way Iris looked -- that face-flushed, messy hair, half-lidded gaze -- was too much for her. And she no longer had the willpower that she had the last time Iris looked like this. She pulled her into another kiss much more desperate than the first, and Iris returned it with equal fervor; digging her fingers into her sides, sucking on her lower lip, and groaning into the kiss. The speed at which Jasper could fully arouse her was unfair.  
  
Jasper broke the kiss and licked her lips. "Hair-pulling. Dirty talk. Giving and receiving. Although, I have a preference for giving." She tossed her hair over one shoulder and out of her vision, her hand returning to it's rightful place on Iris' thigh. "Would you be fine with oral?"  
  
Iris could feel a tremor run down her spine. "More than fine."  
  
Jasper grinned eagerly, moving away from Iris, much to her confusion. She laid back beside her, thumbing in the direction of her face.  
  
"... Wait." Iris sat up and gave her a hesitant side-glance. "Really?"  
  
"Ruby. I've wanted those sweet thighs wrapped around my face for weeks. Get over here."  
  
"Wow." She chuckled, but obliged, climbing on top of her and resting her knees on either side of Jasper's head. "You sure you're not gonna suffocate or anything? I dunno how you lesbians do it."  
  
"Don't worry. Let's just say this is your right of passage into becoming one of us." She gripped her waist and pulled her body lower, running her tongue along her folds and feeling her shudder, placing a few chaste kisses along her thigh to tease her further before she continued.  
  
Iris' lips parted and a hot breath of air escaped her. Her fingers combed through and kneaded into that ivory hair, searching for purchase, and pulling when she felt Jasper's tongue press into her. Her lips were unlawfully warm, and every brush of her lower lip against her felt like paradise. And it was as if Jasper read her mind, because her lips wrapped around her clit and she damn near sucked the life out of her.  
  
" _Fuuuuck ..._ " Her groan dripped with pleasure, though it wasn't the only thing dripping with pleasure. Her body bowed over Jasper's, legs spreading, wrapping one hand around the back of her head to pull her closer still. She was inviting her to do more, but Jasper wouldn't do so without verbal consent. So she continued to tease her, lapping at her wetness like a dehydrated dog in the desert.  
  
"I-I swear to god." Iris was near to snarling at this point. The sexual frustration was bringing out that aggressive side of hers. "If you're gonna do it, **do it.** "  
  
Jasper laughed into her sweetness and gave in to her command; she delved her tongue into her pussy and held back no longer.  
  
Iris was a relatively quiet girl during sex. But that made it all the more exciting whenever Jasper heard her catch her breath or stifle a grunt. She pressed the palm of her hand against Jasper's forehead to brace herself, arching her back and allowing Jasper's tongue to reach her g-spot at just the right angle.  
  
It was euphoric. The pressure was building and her breath quickened. Her eyes rolled back then shut tight, and her hips rocked into the motion, desperate to grind herself against Jasper's lips. She lifted her free hand to bite into two of her fingers. Though it was futile to fight it; once she reached climax, she moaned out loud enough to echo in the hall of their apartment. Jasper could have sworn she heard her name amongst those melodious sounds, and it only drove her determination to draw out her pleasure for as long as possible. But she was parted from her flavor all too soon; Iris fell off her mount onto the bed and hissed softly.  
  
"Shit, shit, shit, shitttt ..." She shook her left hand then examined the bite marks fresh on her fingers. That orgasm made her bite down harder than she had intended. She sat up and squeezed a bead of blood out of the cuts. "Why the hell am I the one always getting the bad end of the stick when we do these things?!"  
  
Jasper busted out howling with laughter, and Iris couldn't stop herself from laughing too. But just for a second. She was an angry little gremlin right now, and still being wracked with aftershocks from her climax. "I dunno what you're laughin' about ..." She sipped the blood off her finger. "You're not the one with bruises and cuts."  
  
"Speak for yourself!" Jasper licked her lips and wiped the dribble off her chin with her thumb. "You had my head in a vice grip when you came. You were _this close_ to cracking me open like a melon." She leaned in to kiss her sweetly in the aftermath of that. "I wouldn't've minded if you had though."  
  
"I'll be sure to do that next time." Iris snorted, and returned the gesture with a kiss to her cheek. "... Did you have fun?"  
  
"Mmhmmm ..."  
  
"So ... you wanna go another round?"  
  
" **Absolutely.** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you skipped ahead, this is what you need to know: Steven, Greg, Amethyst, and Peridot went to the Mike Krol concert. Over the week, Jasper has become more comfortable with the idea of getting intimate. She's overcoming the bad memories she has with her ex Lapis, and though she's still not ready for a committed relationship, she's ready to try things again with Iris. So her and Iris make good use of the alone time.


End file.
